whats your OP on asterinas

[thenewguy997]

Im thunking about adding these for starfish food.

Have you noticed harm from them? Im talking about the lil white ones

[Whiterabbitrage]

I never noticed any harm from mine. I got the 100% guaranteed reef safe ones from Indo Pacific. Some have grown to be the size of a quarter. They seem hardy too. The wrasse bites arms off but it never seems to slow them down.

[thenewguy997]

I never noticed any harm from mine. I got the 100% guaranteed reef safe ones from Indo Pacific. Some have grown to be the size of a quarter. They seem hardy too. The wrasse bites arms off but it never seems to slow them down.

Whered you get them? Im hopimg my lfs will give me some but idk if theyre those

[Whiterabbitrage]

I ordered them online at www.ipsf.com No one else sold them online at the time, so I had to get them there. Problem is the price. That company doesn't let you order one thing. You have to order like 5 or 6 things. Maybe you can do a group buy with some friends or sell the stuff you don't want to your LFS.

[thenewguy997]

Theyre expensive :/

[Muze813]

One of my tanks has been "colonized" by them. They came in as hitchhikers on a rock. I don't think they do any harm. They definitely multiply in the tank, but after several years, their numbers have never become detrimental to my system in any way. I think they are cute. I don't know about the different kinds. I believe mine are from the Pacific.

[ynot65]

Where are you located ? I throw a bunch out every time I clean. Mine are blue

[pfcreed]

I hate them. Ive watched em devour whole colonies of zoas. then they die off and flourish again. the only ive seen them not touch was my palys.

[loves2reef]

....ok there are different species of asterinas. Dont get the black or blue ones they have been known to munch on corals, go for the grey white ones. they dont hurt anything but get out of hand in a large tank. multiply fast. Ive never seen an lfs that wouldnt let you go in and pick out a many as you wanted from their tanks. I do it to all of my local lfs once every few weeks for my H shrimp.

[ramon1181]

I have a few in my tank all came from single one after almost 2 years no problems

[Whiterabbitrage]

Retraction of my earlier statements. Last week I witness an Asterina reach over and pull a piece of salmon out of an Acans mouth. Then the Asterina ate the salmon. My Zoas have been disappearing for months and I can't catch anyone in the act. The Asterinas were always around the colonys but I figured that was just coincidence. But I saw one eat meat with my own eyes. I sat there and watched to be sure. :sad2:

so I guess these guys are like most things in this hobby. Everyone has different opinions and experiences. I agree with pfcreed now.

[Trigger 180]

from my own experiences, I can't say one way or the other. I cannot say that I have seen them do any harm, but I do not profess to be an expert. I have seen them crawling all over the glass & rock, but never the corals. I have conflicting information heard from multiple sources and would LOVE to hear something definitive!

[shesacharmer]

I have one blue one, I guess it has to go. And one large brown one. I watched it actively avoid encrusting corals...maybe I can wait and see with that one.

[Calappidae]

I intentionally added a population of mine into my 30g.

Problem is you only find out the hard way if they are or are not reef safe.. and if they multiple in numbers, which they do, they can begin to become uncontrollable in tanks housing aggressive fish (because then you can't add their only remover, harlequin shrimp, which you then need to figure out how to take care of after the job is done.)

It's like flipping a coin whether you like them or hate them.. you never know until you accept the odds and see the outcome.

[Wonton Soup]

A few years ago I had a crazy outbreak of asterinas. I would liken them to freshwater pest snails. They would completely cover the bottom half of my tank. The glass, the rocks, the sand, etc.
I've never had any that ate coral though.

I used a harlequin to clean them out. It only took a single harlequin about a month to eradicate them. I still see a handful every now and then but so far they have not managed to make a comeback to anywhere near their former numbers.

[EvilMel]

This thread exactly matches what I've heard people say for years: some say asterinas eat corals and some say they're harmless. I do not know if it depends on nutrients/feeding or if these truly are different species. I suspect it may be both.

I don't think you will find a consensus about it though. People have been having this argument for years and years. This thread is one of the most polite discussions about it that I have seen though! Kudos to you guys. hah hah.