White starfish hitchiker on the glass of my 48l nano

[Flusky]

I woke this morning to see a white 1cm starfish on the front glass of my nano. Could anyone identify this hitchiker and let me know if this a a good or bad thing and whether or not i should remove it. I hear that they can multiply very quickly. I have yellow polyps ulsing xenua a green montipora and i going to add a blue mushroom some green star polyps and a candy cane. I attached a pic!!

[GTi]

I woke this morning to see a white 1cm starfish on the front glass of my nano. Could anyone identify this hitchiker and let me know if this a a good or bad thing and whether or not i should remove it. I hear that they can multiply very quickly. I have yellow polyps ulsing xenua a green montipora and i going to add a blue mushroom some green star polyps and a candy cane. I attached a pic!!Picture_20161628091616.jpg

 

 

Looks like an asterina. Generally considered benign but there are reports of some eating zoas. They will spread by fission.

[petolo]

I've never had a problem with them, got a couple in my new tank. I think it is called an asterina or astrea starfish but don't quote me

[ajmckay]

Asterina star most likely.

 

I approach them like this: if I see 2-3 while casually observing the tank I just leave them. If I see like 5-9 without looking close I may use some tweezers and pull a few. They can sometimes can eat coralline algae and I've heard some accounts of them eating soft corals - but that seems very rare. Ultimately they are cool because they don't harm anything and people looking at the tank often notice them and think "oh cool - a tiny starfish" but they don't really provide much of a benefit either so it's up to you whether to leave it or not.

[Flusky]

I have no zoas in my tank at the moment but i intend to put some in. Ive read they also eat coraline algae which is something that i dont have in my tank yet as its only 2 months old. Im also afraid if i dont remove it that it might multiply and infest my tank and stop coraline algae from growing Whats your thoughts?

[GTi]

I have no zoas in my tank at the moment but i intend to put some in. Ive read they also eat coraline algae which is something that i dont have in my tank yet as its only 2 months old. Im also afraid if i dont remove it that it might multiply and infest my tank and stop coraline algae from growing Whats your thoughts?

In my first 2 tanks I had lots of them with no trouble. This time around I started with dry rock and made a conscious decision not to add any. You'd have to have. A lot of them to make any impact on your coralline once the tank has matured. I guess if you pull it now, you can always add some later on if you change your mind.

[petolo]

I know for a fact mine hitchhiked in on my rock (pretty strong statement, but what can I say, I'm confident ), and in the nearly 4 months of running so far I maybe have seen 2, off chance 3...

[fishfreak0114]

I've had asterinas for nearly a year, and they don't seem to multiply very fast. Only now am I starting to find them with any regularity. They don't make a noticeable difference to anything. As long as it's not a coral eater (seems to be rare) I'd say keep it. They are cute

[ndrobey]

There are different varieties of asterinas. This one looks like an algae eater. Look for a pink stomach coming out of the center and getting pressed against the glass. That is how it eats algae. They reproduce very slowly, so I'd keep it for now.