Discovered 2 Asterina starfish...

[JodiM]

Good? Bad? In different?
I have seen online that some people say they are fine and some say they are invasive.
Thoughts?
TIA

[jlmawp]

Some species, as I understand it, can be threatening to zoas and smaller corals, but the vast majority of asterinas are just scavengers and algae eaters.

I will say, however, that after only 6 months of having a 9-gallon nano, I have had to do 3 or 4 "purgings" of the damn things. They multiply like crazy and tend to leave nice white dots all over my pretty pink and purple coralline (pic below). I like diversity, so I keep some around, but I eliminate roughly half of them every couple months. In a larger tank, that might be tougher, but I have a feeling that they will run rampant if not checked.

http://i.imgur.com/I9HdBaR.jpg

[crossguard]

I don't trust them...

[GimpyFin]

Most of them are just fine, IME. Occasionally, you hear about them bothering corals, but the ones that I've had never bother a thing and I actually kinda like having them in the tank.

[gone fishin]

I never paid then any attention for years. Then I got some gray/slate colored ones that went after some of my stylophoras. I think the vast majority are harmless most I just see on the glass.

[Sapelo]

See them, grab them, remove them.
Why risk it?

[Sk8r]

I probably have that many on my front glass at any given time (105 gallon). I only wish they'd eat the spots of coralline I have to scrape off. Never bother anything, but I don't have zoas.

[JodiM]

Some species, as I understand it, can be threatening to zoas and smaller corals, but the vast majority of asterinas are just scavengers and algae eaters.

I will say, however, that after only 6 months of having a 9-gallon nano, I have had to do 3 or 4 "purgings" of the damn things. They multiply like crazy and tend to leave nice white dots all over my pretty pink and purple coralline (pic below). I like diversity, so I keep some around, but I eliminate roughly half of them every couple months. In a larger tank, that might be tougher, but I have a feeling that they will run rampant if not checked.

http://i.imgur.com/I9HdBaR.jpg

Yeah as I was looking for my shrimp, I spotted another one.. so 3 of them so far. I am thinking maybe I will pull 2 out and leave one. They are cute but I don't want anything that is going to destroy my tank.

[JodiM]

I don't trust them...

For those of you who don't trust them, and pull them out..

What do you do with them? toilet? another tank? trash??

[reefwiser]

They may not cause any problems but they multiply so fast that they be come a issue.
I generally throw them out if I see them so they don't be come an issue.

[Greybeard]

If you're going to pull them, you might as well pull all you see... I promise, there's plenty you're not seeing.

I like 'em. Added them to my system intentionally. Valuable part of my clean up crew. Never had 'em bother anything that wasn't dead or dying. I understand there are varieties that can be pests, but the common varieties are beneficial.

Club I used to belong to owned a pair of harlequin shrimp. They'd go in someone's tank until they had demolished the population of asterina, then they'd get passed on to the next tank full of them.

[JodiM]

They may not cause any problems but they multiply so fast that they be come a issue.
I generally throw them out if I see them so they don't be come an issue.

Guess this is a job for my husband :lolspin:

I can't stand to kill things.. it makes me sad.. :facepalm:

[JodiM]

If you're going to pull them, you might as well pull all you see... I promise, there's plenty you're not seeing.

I like 'em. Added them to my system intentionally. Valuable part of my clean up crew. Never had 'em bother anything that wasn't dead or dying. I understand there are varieties that can be pests, but the common varieties are beneficial.

Club I used to belong to owned a pair of harlequin shrimp. They'd go in someone's tank until they had demolished the population of asterina, then they'd get passed on to the next tank full of them.

You are correct lol, i started with just seeing two and now I am seeing 4.. its like they are just coming out of every hole in my rock..
So many surprises with this tank already.

[Edz2891]

i had tons of them in my tank and was just pulling them out by hand for a while until i couldn't keep up with them. I bought a harlequin shrimp that ate every last one of them. after my tank was rid of them i sold the shrimp back to my lfs.

[billdogg]

If you're going to pull them, you might as well pull all you see... I promise, there's plenty you're not seeing.

I like 'em. Added them to my system intentionally. Valuable part of my clean up crew. Never had 'em bother anything that wasn't dead or dying. I understand there are varieties that can be pests, but the common varieties are beneficial.

Club I used to belong to owned a pair of harlequin shrimp. They'd go in someone's tank until they had demolished the population of asterina, then they'd get passed on to the next tank full of them.

What he said.

If they are reproducing too fast you need to limit their food source - i.e. Quit over feeding and they'll stay in check.

And fwiw, I have never intentionally removed one from a tank of mine unless I am rehoming it to another of my tanks

[crossguard]

If you're going to pull them, you might as well pull all you see... I promise, there's plenty you're not seeing.

I like 'em. Added them to my system intentionally. Valuable part of my clean up crew. Never had 'em bother anything that wasn't dead or dying. I understand there are varieties that can be pests, but the common varieties are beneficial.


What do the "common varieties" look like? I'm still waiting for someone to distinguish the bad ones from the good ones without a doubt.

On a side note; I've noticed that most of you who have said that these things have never done any harm or that they are good scavengers seem to have rather large tanks. (100+ gallons) You do realize that if these things are doing any damage it could easily go unnoticed in these large aquariums don't you? (like a hitchhiker) I wouldn't expect you to wake up one morning and find a whole colony of zoanthids has disappeared or a Stylophora has been stripped down to the bone, but bad things can be happening regardless. I hope your not turning a blind eye to this. ;)

[nmotz]

i had tons of them in my tank and was just pulling them out by hand for a while until i couldn't keep up with them. I bought a harlequin shrimp that ate every last one of them. after my tank was rid of them i sold the shrimp back to my lfs.

^This, and it doesn't take long either. But I don't really mind Asterinas as long as they aren't everywhere. I have a few in my tank and they eat coralline algae growing on the back wall.

[Edz2891]

Yeah. I didn't mind them at first but those things were quick to multiply. They never really harmed anything.


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[SeaCucumberFan]

Asterina... I think it is a misconception that they will harm your tank (although some species are rumored to eat corals). I would wait until they multiply and then get a harlequin

[MrHyde]

I don't trust them...

+1

I would love to see a real picture of what I'm supposed to be looking out for.

[NS Mike D]

I didn't mind them until they took a liking to my clove coral colony and wiped out 1/3 of it

I toss them in my sump/refugium. I'll get them down to one or two visible in the DT, and a few days later, I'll see a dozen, and so the relocation project continues.

[JodiM]

Thank you everyone for your input. I was searching for them this morning and now can only find 1. I think they went back into hiding in the rock.
Found a tiny clear crab of some kind this morning also, but last time I saw him he was smashed under my turbo snails foot.. Not sure if he made it or not..

[JodiM]

+1

I would love to see a real picture of what I'm supposed to be looking out for.

This is what the ones I found look like

[Moeshi]

IME (3 years of reefing) they only attack corals if the coral is unhealthy/sick/dying. They are opportunistic scavengers in that sense, and I consider them a part of a healthy reef.

Keep nutrients low and recruit various snails to compete with them for algae and they will stay in check.

[JodiM]

IME (3 years of reefing) they only attack corals if the coral is unhealthy/sick/dying. They are opportunistic scavengers in that sense, and I consider them a part of a healthy reef.

Keep nutrients low and recruit various snails to compete with them for algae and they will stay in check.

Thank you!

[crossguard]

IME (3 years of reefing) they only attack corals if the coral is unhealthy/sick/dying.

This hasn't been the case for me unfortunately. It wasn't until I started removing these starfish from my system that the zoanthids bounced back to normal. It was the same deal with an Emerald crab too. Once it was gone things looked much better. You couldn't pay me to have these things in a reef tank anymore, especially a small one. :thumbdown

[bertoni]

I think asterinids are interesting to watch. Very rarely, coral-eating varieties seem to show up in people's tanks. I don't know of any visual queues as to which you have. If your corals are fine, though, the starfish very likely are harmless to the corals, and they can help with algae or detritus cleanup.

[snorvich]

In my experience, the light colored ones are fine, the darker colored ones are not.