Asterina starfish type?

[SeaTila]

Found one...then four so started plucking them. I looked all over the internet for examples of good or bad asterina. Because I see more than white coloration on back and they hang out on liverock and not glass decided to remove them. Please help me figure out if I have the zoa eating asterina since I have some zoas. Here are pics. Once removed from water they are not as white so im posting pics in water and when out.
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[BlueMoonFox]

They look just like the guys in my tank. Thus far, no problems. My girls enjoy finding new ones in different places. No issues with zoas yet.

[travis136]

i would pull them out. my dads tank he always liked them and now they eat all his zoaz when he puts them in and he has thousands of them because he never took care of them

[SeaTila]

These have a orange/tan with little black. They have white on outside edge and underside. I see them on liverock and never on glass. I was wondering the name of this type of asterina. I have looked for names of types through pics and can't find any large listing.

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[aName]

I have those and was told by an old school reefer that they called them 'chernobyl' stars and not to worry about them. Haven't noticed any problems yet.

[anthonys51]

I got a harlequin shrimp to Get mine out. I didn't notice them eating any corals. But I did have white spots all over my corraline algae. So I figured they don't do any good so why not get them out of my tank


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[anthonys51]

I got a harlequin shrimp to Get mine out. I didn't notice them eating any corals. But I did have white spots all over my corraline algae. So I figured since they don't do any good for the tank,why not get them out of my tank


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[billdogg]

Looks like your run-of-the-mill Asterina sp. to me. They are generally harmless detritus eaters and therefore (at least IMHO) a beneficial part of your CUC that will self limit their population based on available food supply. I have had them in all my systems for nearly 30 years and never had an issue with them. I spread them out if one tank starts to get too many

[Animagus]

I would just play it safe and remove them. A tank full of these things is not very attractive either. I can see why they're referred to as pests.

http://www.withinthesea.com/reef-aquarium/pests/asterina-anomala/

http://www.garf.org/Star/starfish.html

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=1426

[ScienceRulez]

They come and go in the tank here. I haven't seen one in the refugium even for about 3 weeks now. Before that there were about 20 of them on the glass at any one time. Not sure what happened.

The kids love them. The younger kids (under 8), think they are baby sea stars.

I only have one mushroom coral and they have never bothered it, though they kept the refugium glass fairly clean, now I have to scrape it.

[SeaTila]

Thanks for all the help. With all the talk about bad asterina its really difficult to identify your type and if good or bad. I think based on advice if I see them im plucking them since I can live without them as algae eaters.

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[fishchef]

We had a 125 for many years. Never worried about the small stars. It got too crazy, too many stars. Keep them under control.

[eshtog]

IME they eat Zoas.

[fishchef]

IME they eat Zoas.

Probably why we never had luck with zoas.