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View Full Version : Please identify: Are these little starfish reef safe?

ReefObsessor805
03/14/2007, 08:49 PM
I hope these little guys are reef safe...
There are about four to five of them in my reef tank; I believe I have spotted some offspring as well...

Can anyone ID these little hitch-hikers?

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n32/lbz818/asfsdfasdfsa015.jpg

Thank you!
sunfish11
03/14/2007, 08:54 PM
Asterina star. Yes the type you have look reef safe.
lvpd186
03/14/2007, 09:34 PM
I have several in my tank and I agree it looks like a asterina star; most all of them are like the one in your pic, not symmetrical. I've never seen them bother anything, they are suppose to be detritivores so I wouldn't worry about it.
Konadog
03/14/2007, 09:57 PM
You have 4 or 5 now that you can see, but in a few months you'll probably have 100! They multiply quicker than rabbits :D

Even then they shouldn't be a problem and are a common hitch hiker. All you have to do to get rid of some is scrape the glass of them.
zach0660
03/14/2007, 10:02 PM
Hey lvpd186, Im from Bellevue, NE.
keaton
03/15/2007, 12:06 AM
"They multiply quicker than rabbits"

That is very true
davidryder
03/15/2007, 12:23 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9479563#post9479563 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Konadog
You have 4 or 5 now that you can see, but in a few months you'll probably have 100! They multiply quicker than rabbits :D

Even then they shouldn't be a problem and are a common hitch hiker. All you have to do to get rid of some is scrape the glass of them.

Yes they do!! Kind of cool in their own rite.
ReefObsessor805
03/15/2007, 09:29 AM
Yep, thanks!

There are sure more than four or five!
dc_909
03/15/2007, 09:50 AM
I remove mine just because nobody seems to know what the coral eating asterinas look like compared to the reef saffe ones.

Better safe than sorry.
Frick-n-Frags
03/15/2007, 10:42 AM
....I was just going to ask that: how can you tell between the good guys and the bad guys?
BrianCM
03/15/2007, 12:45 PM
I have 2-3 of thoes little guys in my tank. THey don't seem to bother anything.
dc_909
03/15/2007, 01:15 PM
More than likely there is more than 2-3.
DSMpunk
03/15/2007, 01:34 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9482615#post9482615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dc_909
I remove mine just because nobody seems to know what the coral eating asterinas look like compared to the reef saffe ones.

Better safe than sorry.

Its practically impossible. I have hundreds of the algae eating type and a few of the zoa eating kind. They are maybe a little bit darker than the other ones. But I couldnt pick them out of the crowd if my life depended on it.
saj01c
03/15/2007, 02:02 PM
When I first found them in my tank I didn't know what they were so I added a H. shrimp and it cleaned them out. I added them back in my tank from a friends tank when I found out they were harmless. The ones in my tank look like the sandsifting kind but with more arms. I have had them in my tank for years with no problems.
tkeracer619
03/15/2007, 02:11 PM
I have tons of them and tons of zoanthids.

I have never seen them eating zoas, maybe on them but just passing by. IF I ever see one on a Zoa and its damaging the zoa my tank will be minus one asternia. I started with a tiny population, maybe I didnt get any of the bad ones.

My question is what do these reddish blurs look like?
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1829/asfsdfasdfsa015iq3.jpg
poissonist
03/15/2007, 02:56 PM
my retailer give them to everyone who want them! IT MULTIPLY AND SOMETIMES NOT; IT IS SAFE AND IF YOU HAVE HUNDREDS YOU CAN GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE OR THROW AWAY; IT IS JUST FUNNY; YOU LIKE OR NOT; IT IS YOUR CHOICE TO KEEP OR NOT!