starfish in fuge.

[tankjunky]

Ok so my dads fuge just got a sudden burst of small brittlestars. They are everywhen in ther and im wondering if these will be ok in ther or if I should get them out.

Thanks for the help

[kfisc]

Most are harmless; without a picture it's hard to say what you have but I'd feel safe betting you can leave them be.

[SeaMonsters]

I'd leave em. do they have black and white arms?

[tankjunky]

They look like tiny brittle stars. I dont like the camera we have and I can never get good pictures of anything tank related so yah. And theyer more of a plain tan color

[spleify]

There probably fine, the worst they will probably do is eat you're coraline algae in the sump if you have any.

HTH

Spleify

[basssnake]

Little brittle stars will eat coralline algae? I didn't know that. I just thought they ate crap, dead debris, or any food that might end up in there, but i never heard of them eating coralline, is that true?

[aries70]

mine don't eat coralline, they eat crap,etc

[Anemonebuff]

The little ones are fine. If they are tiny starfish, you should keep an eye on them. Asternia's are usually OK, but some attack corals.

[pledosophy]

They are a good thing. :D

[tankjunky]

Then should I take some and throw them in my tank to eat all the leftover stuff

[aries70]

if it were me YES !!!

[spleify]

Yes some Asterinas will absolutely eat coraline algae. I can see trails of white on my glass, where the stars have been.

JME

Spleify

[miwoodar]

My asterinas did the same thing Leif. They never touched my corals but they decimated my coralline once populations got high enough. I picked up a pair of long narrow tongs to help remove them. In only a few short weeks I was able to pull a few hundred out of my reef. I still have some - occasionally I remove a handful to help keep the population in check.

I have mini brittle stars by the thousands. I've never seen them do any damage nor have I ever heard of them causing troubles in anyone's tank. If this is what you have OP, I would let them multiply. They are a great addition to your cleanup crew.

[tankjunky]

Ok then Im going to put some in my tank then. Do I have to float and acclimate them and all that stuff or can I just throw them in

[miwoodar]

It's always a good idea to acclimate. If you have time, I would do so. They are pretty tough. You could probably put them through a blender before soaking them in bleach and they would still make it (a little sarcasm). I've found them in all sorts of places in my reef that I would never have expected...inside mesh bags (houdini!) and many places that would have required them to go through a pump to get there (GFO reactor).

[tankjunky]

Well I have to meet my teacher pretty soon but I can do it later I guess