6 Legged starfish.

[smarcus3]

I just saw a six legged star fish. He is about a 1/4" wide from arm to arm and currently eating algae on one of my live rock pieces. Is he reef safe? Should I just keep an eye out? He is blueish green color.

 

Thanks.

 

Sorry about not including a photo.

[GobyDude]

I just saw a six legged star fish. He is about a 1/4" wide from arm to arm and currently eating algae on one of my live rock pieces. Is he reef safe? Should I just keep an eye out? He is blueish green color.

 

Thanks.

 

Sorry about not including a photo.

 

Do a search on asterina starfish. That's my guess

[smarcus3]

is it bad?

[GobyDude]

is it bad?

 

Depends. Do a search on the forums. I've heard mixed opinions.

[smarcus3]

i have read usually not. how big do they grow?

[GobyDude]

i have read usually not. how big do they grow?

 

they stay about that size. very small.

[smarcus3]

they stay about that size. very small.

 

okay. thanks for the info. I don't want to kill it because i like to have biodiversity.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

I'm a big fan of biodiversity too, but in this case you probably want to get rid of it. They reproduce like bunnies and you'll soon have hundreds of them all over your glass.

[smarcus3]

I'm a big fan of biodiversity too, but in this case you probably want to get rid of it. They reproduce like bunnies and you'll soon have hundreds of them all over your glass.

 

okay ill start killing everyone i see. thanks for the advice.

[Smurf]

hmmm.. why not keep them? They can just add to your, yeah biodiversity.But it's always better to have extra algae eaters.

[dahliaheartsyou]

hmmm.. why not keep them? They can just add to your, yeah biodiversity.But it's always better to have extra algae eaters.

 

+1

 

they will reproduce but if there isn't enough food they will recede most likely.

they don't hurt anything and i think they are pretty darn cute!

don't kill them =]

[smarcus3]

was afraid they would mess up my corals. too dangerous. already killed 2

[Smurf]

lol... your quick on the gun.

[dahliaheartsyou]

was afraid they would mess up my corals. too dangerous. already killed 2

 

they arent dangerous at all, there are some people think eat sps but they are VERY different looking, as in dark brown and pointy with an odd number of legs http://garf.org/news26p2.html#STAR

most people have these in their tanks and they prove as safe

if yours are whiter, or whitish blue (there are a ton of species of asterinas) and not all pointy then they are safe =]

[smarcus3]

the one that i hav killed out of the tank is kinda greenish with 6 rounded legs. is he dangerous. If i already found 2 i assume there is more. 2 days ago i could only find 1.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

okay ill start killing everyone i see. thanks for the advice.

 

If you trade frags with people later down the line, most likely they won't like it if you give them asterinas, they're kind of an aquarium STD. I just had to take out all the LR in my 10 and give it away because it was so covered in asterinas.

 

 

[dahliaheartsyou]

the one that i hav killed out of the tank is kinda greenish with 6 rounded legs. is he dangerous. If i already found 2 i assume there is more. 2 days ago i could only find 1.

 

do you have sps?

if not, they you don't even need to worry about it.

if you went about offing every new thing thinking it "could be" dangerous you will have a bare tank.

it's pretty much impossible to identify the specific species, but that one sounds safe imo

[smarcus3]

i have one sps coral (monipora digitata) that is re-colonizing. it was almost completely died when my heater died. its about half colonized now.

[Lmecher]

Here is an article I found of preditory starfish, you may find it interesting.

 

http://www.garf.org/STAR/starfish.html

[Sneezy]

okay ill start killing everyone i see. thanks for the advice.

harlequin shrimp and you will not have to worry about starfish ...

 

the only down side is you will have to buy a starfish once in awhile when they have eaten all that are in your tank...

 

i am getting a pair of these shrimp as i have noticed at least a thousand of these little blue guys since i got my tank set up almost 2 weeks ago

 

oh and these cute shrimp will add to your "bio diversity".

[smarcus3]

I was thinking about getting a Harlequin shrimp.

 

And was does everyone have to hate. Bio Diversity is what makes a saltwater tank so much better than a freshwater tank.

[Khayman]

Lots of feather dusters are good. It also means your calcium levels must be great

[smarcus3]

I dose a and b daily without fail. I never knew they are good indicators of calcium levels, but i guess it makes sense since they create their tubes.

[hazmat]

I found some asterina stars in my RSM and transferred them to my BC8. About 10 of them. But then I noticed that they were eating my coralline algae. They almost cleaned a rock clean so I decided to take them out. They are really cool but I like my coralline better.

 

I always feel bad when I take something out of my tank...except bristleworms (yes, I know...go ahead and flame!)

[smarcus3]

thanks for the info.