Hitchhiking Starfish

[govols2015]

I purchased a coral at my LFS today and this guy fell off during the dip. He is so small that I’m not sure how to identify him and I don’t want to put him in the tank if I will end up regretting it. I have snails, zoas, and a few LPS. Does anyone know what it is and whether it is reef safe?

 

Thanks!

[Tamberav]

Asterina starfish....most eat algae but some have been known to munch zoas. There are many kinds of asterina stars and knowing which is which is impossible.

[Tennreefer]

Flush it! I had a few. Then a few more. Then hundreds months later. Ate or smothered a ton of my Zoas. Ive been hand picking them out for months. They multiply quick and are a pain in the A$$. Just my two cents. 

 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

Yes and no? Asterinas are a big genus. I have one 7 armed Asterina that just travels and eats detritus, but if you're unsure you could just not have it in your tank.

[Tennreefer]

I've had the solid white ones at some point over the years and they were fine. The ones that looked like the one pictured here multiplied pretty quick and definitely wiped out some Zoas.

[govols2015]

Thanks everyone! I decided to err on the side of caution and flushed it. I saw some horror stories of hundreds of the things covering tank walls

[Clown79]

It's an asterina. Vast majority are harmless and great cleaners.

 

A few eat corals- some blamed on eating coral that may have already been dying. So is it truly a coral eating asterina or was the coral in decline or covered in algae.