little starfish

[robd855]

I have a 65 Gallon tank that has been up and running for about 8 months. The tank is doing well, happy fish, corals are growing, etc. This is the second time this has happened to me, I start to see what looks like little star fish. They range in size from a pin head to about the size of a dime. the other thing is they usually have one tip missing. in other words they may have 4.5 legs/tips instead of 5 full ones. the first go around they seemed to die off quickly, this time they don't. I'm currious if this is normal and if there is a reason why they dies off the first time.
Thanks for your help

[horwitzs]

I can't remember what that type is called, but I'm sure somebody else can pipe up and there have been a couple of other threads started on them in the last few days.

It is generally not harmful to your tank... most have no issues but a few people have reported that they munch on corals.
They multiply rapidly by dropping off one of their arms which grows into a new star. That is why they always have different length arms... they are growing back after splitting off. If they start to get out of control you can get a harlequin shrimp which will eat them.

[horwitzs]

Duplicate post deleted.

[LukeGI]

Are they Asterina Starfish?

[thegrun]

They are Asterina Starfish (harmless). In new tanks they sometimes multiply to the point where they are a distraction, but they tend to die-off over time too where you will only see a few.

[robd855]

Thanks everyone!