KathyC

Moderator
Location
Barnum Island
Rating - 100%
200   0   0
Asterinas..I had them, ok fine, no issue. Didn't seem to bother anything that I'd noticed. They reproduced but not out of control and we all lived happily together.

The somewhere along the line in the last 4 or 5 months I got the smaller version of them probably as a hitchhiker..they have a slight blue or green tint to them.
Here's a pic with a dime for comparison
stars-1.jpg


They are my nightmare come true.
For those of you who know what corals I frequently buy (and I do buy!! :))...you'll know how upset I was to discover that these little stars eat Zoanthids..like there is no tomorrow....

I had recently counted the different zoa morphs I'd collected and believe there was either 71 or 91 (forgot...lol)..as of tonight I have 34 left. :(

At first I thought perhaps my Flame Angel had started picking at my zoos (nope..), then I though I had weak glue..(well...I was reaching for a reason why the zoas would be there when I went to bed and in the morning I'd just have a splotch of glue...)..nope... and then I saw the stars right on top of the zoas..and yes, in the morning that zoa and his local neighbors would be gone.

I had a discussion with Phil (Devious) :hug: and then I was sure it was in fact these stars devouring my zoas.
I can tell you that while I can see these little guys on my rock during the day, the population at night is beyond comprehension. They multiply at an alarming rate. Sooo..I picked up a mated pair of Harlequin shrimp (can only keep these guys in male/female pairs or they kill each other...) a few weeks back at GA to combat these stars and I lend a hand by picking out at least 100 of them a day.

Progress is slow, but I'm getting there!:splitspin
I'm posting this to warn anyone else who has these small bluish/greenish stars in their tanks to beware, I am so dissappointed to lose so many beautiful zoas to them.
Also need to add that I have also seen the regular asterinas (in the pic) on top of my zoas but now don't leave them on there long enough to know if they eat them also. I am removing both (with the help of the Harley) from my tank.

On another note...I might not have minded if they ate palys...but they don't seem to. Every blasted olive drab or brown paly that came in on my LR is still there... figures...lol
 

daisy

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
19   0   0
Kathy - I'm so sorry you've got this scourge. Thank goodness there is something that eats pretty much everything out there! ....good thing great white sharks don't come as hitchikers. (do Orcas eat them? ...kind of big for our tanks, though.... Orcas, that is.)

the little stars are so much prettier than the asterinas, though..... (just kidding...)

On the bright side, harlequins are so pretty.... :)
 

KathyC

Moderator
Location
Barnum Island
Rating - 100%
200   0   0
Thanks guys, already have the Harley express working on them!
Randy...before you get a handful to eat your zoas...chop me off a frag first please :) Yours were one of the first I lost...
I haven't seen them eat anything else and hope it stays that way. Certainly not chalices!! :) I'd be in the tank stomping on them...lol

Tahl.. I'm trying to picture an Orca in my tank...just not happening! lol
 

tommy818

tommy818
Location
bronx ny
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
they also eat star polyps.i also have hundreds in my tank but have mostly sps.have one rock with zoes that oddly enough they never touched.the seem to also feed on diatoms because at night when my moon lights are on there all over the glass.
 

KathyC

Moderator
Location
Barnum Island
Rating - 100%
200   0   0
Star polyps huh? Now people will be asking me to send them some! lol
For the first time in ages my star polyps are flourishing...go figure.

Oddly enough I also have a few zoas they haven't touched...the less expensive ones. How do they know???!!!
I'll trade my thousands for your hundreds? :)
 

jhale

ReefsMagazine!
Location
G.V NYC
Rating - 100%
52   0   0
sorry Kathy, I guess we know what you'll be looking for at the swap.

zooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssss.
 

DevIouS

- Untitled -
Location
Da B - X
Rating - 100%
108   0   0
I tried to warn everybody:happysad:

Kat:
Harley's will do the job. In a few weeks, my large number of stars went down to 1 or 2 stragglers:starfish:

Randy:
There are reports that some will munch on SPS as well.
 

KathyC

Moderator
Location
Barnum Island
Rating - 100%
200   0   0
I tried to warn everybody:happysad:

Kat:
Harley's will do the job. In a few weeks, my large number of stars went down to 1 or 2 stragglers:starfish:

Randy:
There are reports that some will munch on SPS as well.

You sure did Philly!! That's the main reason I brought it back up to the top here...
Need people to read it before they have the damage my tank has sustained....
 

ming

LE Coral Killer
Location
Flushing, NY
Rating - 100%
272   0   0
I used to have a harlequin for my asternias, they got most of the stars, but definitely not all of them. It eventually becomes hard for them to find the tiny buggers since they're here and there, but keeping the harlequin will make sure the population stays in check
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top