Shocked at what came to be...

[Pinkheine]

We noticed an asterina starfish the other day. I immediately freaked, where there is one there has to be more right? Right.:irked:

So anyways... >>FF to today.. we added a pair of Halequin Shrimp yesterday and the guy at the LFS told us to watch that the Asterinas will move to the glass once we introduce them to the tank...

I'm thinking yea right.. a 120g tank, two lil' Harleys and those things will move to the glass.. uh-huh, sure.

Sure enough.. they did!! I was shocked. I've been plucking them out as they move to the glass. I am totally amazed that they have moved to the glass. I have no idea when these lil' boogers were introduced or where they came from.. but they are not standing a chance so far.. so good.

I'm glad we noticed them before any corals miraculously started fading away..

 

[reefman]

actually 1 shrimp is enough to wipe the stars out fast. they r very efficient. the problem is they will neeed to be fed starfish when theres none in tank.

 

[Pinkheine]

I am very prepared to feed them after these guys are gone. Originally I was only going to pic up one Harlequin but these two were together in the tank and too adorable to leave one of them behind.


They have followed one another all over my 120g already... not more than one or two inches from one another.


I think my shrimps are my favorites of the in tank inhabitants, more so than the fish/corals etc.

Will Harley's eat a Tiger Starfish? The one that has the long legs like the bristle?? We have two in the tank... and if need be I will take them out and find them a new home rather than make them Harley food. IDK why.. but I was going to get either CC's or SS's to feed them( I guess I kind of feel bad because the two stars have been in the tank for over 6 months now and they have grown on me). Figure I can keep either or CC/SS in the fuge until it is feeding time.

 

[Keith P]

asterina starfish are bad?!? DANG! I have a TON of them (in my nano and my cooking rock tubs). Like over a hundred.

 

[Shad]

I have read on other threads MR that they may be benificial. Are they bad? I have a ton of them in my 92 gal.

 

[Marteen]

I don't think they eat bristle stars. I think they only eat the other kind of stars. If you do see them feeding on your bristles you can remove them to your fuge. They aren't dead merely paralyzed.

 

[DevIouS]

Not all Asterinas are bad.

Harleys will not eat on Bristle / Serpant Starfish.


No need to pluck out the Asterinas, since you have Harley's now:starfish:

 

[basiab]

What in the world is your problem. For the most part there is benefit to having asterina stars as well as bristle worms. There may be some types that are a problem but I would guess that 99% are just fine. They are there and multiplying because your system is feeding them well.
So if you have a lot of bristle worms it means you have a dirty tank and they are cleaning it up. If you clean it up their number will also decrease. I would assume the asterina are there for the algae, but it does not taake much to keep them well fed.

 

[Wes]

asterinas eat coralline...my population got out of control. they havnt eaten any corals but they have completely stripped the back wall from corralline and now they are working on the rocks.

 

[Pinkheine]

What in the world is your problem. For the most part there is benefit to having asterina stars as well as bristle worms. There may be some types that are a problem but I would guess that 99% are just fine. They are there and multiplying because your system is feeding them well.
So if you have a lot of bristle worms it means you have a dirty tank and they are cleaning it up. If you clean it up their number will also decrease. I would assume the asterina are there for the algae, but it does not taake much to keep them well fed.

Hmmm let's see, what in the world may my problem be... I noticed a colony of my zoanthids not opening completely one day... saw an asterina star on them. Over the period of a few days the zoanthid covered rock slowly started becoming just a rock. I don't see any mention of bristle worms anywhere, and haven't noticed any in my tank at night or during the day.. a few peanut worms here and there, maybe two or three. I was speaking of bristle STARFISH not worms.

I prefer not to have my corals eaten by asterinas and I like various shrimps, including harleys. So all in all it works out well I guess... I had a reason to buy some Harleys and I don't have to worry about my corals being eaten anymore.

I do know that there are many beneficial critters that are in a system. I have zero problems with any of them. We have snails reproducing like mad, shrimp carrying eggs, stomatella like crazy, pods gallore etc. Though I do work hard to keep things in balance and want to see my corals thrive in my own little reef aquarium. If that means getting some shrimp to take care of some stars that I consider a nuisance, so be it.

 

[basiab]

Well, I guess there could be asterina that eat coral and there could be some that eat coraline. Mine don't. You just have to train them right.

 

[Pinkheine]

Well, I guess there could be asterina that eat coral and there could be some that eat coraline. Mine don't. You just have to train them right.

:lol: I should have sent lil' man in there with his scuba gear first to give the stars a quick obedience lesson. :tub:

 

[House of Laughter]

asterinas don't eat coral - they WILL eat dying flesh of a coral though, but they will not seek out SPS in a predatory way.

House

 

[Pinkheine]

asterinas don't eat coral - they WILL eat dying flesh of a coral though, but they will not seek out SPS in a predatory way.

House

From what I have found on a few different places they have been said to eat coral... I also think if I remember correctly I had read it here as well by another member having some of their zoanthids eaten by them. Though that could be my CRS again acting up.

Asterina Starfish

Photo by: formerly icyuodd

Photo by: qualudethunder
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Spinulosida
Asterina starfish, or more commonly known as Fiji starfish are generally dime sized or smaller with a large body, irregular arm length, and an irregular number of arms. They tend to hide among corals and in the crevices of the live rock during the day and can sometimes be seen clinging to the corners of the tank. This type of starfish has been shown to eat coralline algae and some corals; specifically acropora, xenia, green star polyps, zoanthids, and several types of soft leather corals. These starfish divide across the main body with two or three legs of varying lengths and multiply rapidly. Remove these starfish if they start to bother your corals.

I don't think the pics came up but here is the link.. http://www.nano-reef.com/invertebrates/?id=9

IDK I can only go by what I have seen and what is going on in my tank ... for now things are hunky dory as the harleys are happy and the corals all seem fine, even the zoas that were disappearing are open again, what is left of them that is.

 

[DevIouS]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/identification/37558-what-thing.html


http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/39498-stars-my-nemesis.html

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I am very prepared to feed them after these guys are gone. Originally I was only going to pic up one Harlequin but these two were together in the tank and too adorable to leave one of them behind.


They have followed one another all over my 120g already... not more than one or two inches from one another.


I think my shrimps are my favorites of the in tank inhabitants, more so than the fish/corals etc.

.

what a romantic person you are.

 

[Keith P]

I'm questioning them now too. I found this today:

The guy on the bottom left looks like he may be munching...

 

[Lolli631]

Ive had asterinas in my nano from day one. Never noticed them munching on zoas and plenty of coralline on the rocks and walls.

 

[Pinkheine]

I think the misconception that occurs is there are different types of asterinas that occur in reef aquariums. There is no mistaking these things are demolishing my zoanthids. I noticed yet another colony this evening that has a few asterinas on them. I will check on the progress over the next few days to see if they also disappear like the other has.

Here is a picture of the first colony that has been effected by the asterinas.. not the best picture, circled in black is the area that used to be entirely covered by open zoas, the red arrow is pointing to the bare rock left behind.

Circled in yellow in the picture below is what the zoas above used to look like... with no stars on them at all. I will try and get better pictures of the aftermaths.

 

[kris]

Is it possible there was something wrong with the zoos and the asterinas were just cleaning up dead tissue? I have hundreds in a thriving sps tank with no ill effects. The ones in my softie tank actually get eaten by the paly's when I knock them off the glass.