Hitchhiker Starfish?

Phixman · 01/17/2018, 04:44 PM

So I was going about my day , moved a hammer coral down since it was getting too much light, and noticed a smudge on a skimmer that had previously been somewhere else in the morning, I was like

lol. Anyways, I looked closer and looked like Asterina starfish, I called the cops and the two suspects were arrested and taken into custody for questioning.

Now, I think I got them as hitchhikers from some coral I recently bought, but I don't know how they got in my tank, I dip all my corals for 15 minutes. I'm sure there are more in my tank, I haven't seen any coral damage. Do you guys think these are good/bad? I will post some images in a second...

Phixman · 01/17/2018, 04:56 PM

Test

Phixman · 01/17/2018, 07:00 PM

I know one of you know! lol

LeJeune981 · 01/17/2018, 07:34 PM

Looks like an astrina to me... I'm pretty sure they are harmless... I've got a bunch of little ones

Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk

Phixman · 01/17/2018, 09:49 PM

I've recently noticed some zoans closed, and an sps dying, do you think they are the cause?

ReefNomad · 01/23/2018, 05:53 AM

With asterina, you can normally tell if they're eating something they're not supposed to because the photosynthetic algae shows through their skin. If they're grazing heavily on coralline, you'll see pink or purple in them under normal white light. If they're grazing on SPS, you should see specks of the coral color showing up in the skin of the star.

AlSimmons · 01/23/2018, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phixman

I've recently noticed some zoans closed, and an sps dying, do you think they are the cause?

It's definitely possible and believe me your not the first one to ask that question. Being that nobody can really tell without a doubt the good ones from the bad ones it would probably be in your best interest to remove them all no matter what.

01/17/2018, 04:44 PM	#1
Phixman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 176	Hitchhiker Starfish? So I was going about my day , moved a hammer coral down since it was getting too much light, and noticed a smudge on a skimmer that had previously been somewhere else in the morning, I was like lol. Anyways, I looked closer and looked like Asterina starfish, I called the cops and the two suspects were arrested and taken into custody for questioning. Now, I think I got them as hitchhikers from some coral I recently bought, but I don't know how they got in my tank, I dip all my corals for 15 minutes. I'm sure there are more in my tank, I haven't seen any coral damage. Do you guys think these are good/bad? I will post some images in a second...

01/17/2018, 04:56 PM	#2
Phixman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 176	Test

01/17/2018, 07:00 PM	#3
Phixman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 176	I know one of you know! lol

01/17/2018, 07:34 PM	#4
LeJeune981 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 747	Looks like an astrina to me... I'm pretty sure they are harmless... I've got a bunch of little ones Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk

01/17/2018, 09:49 PM	#5
Phixman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Lynnwood, WA Posts: 176	I've recently noticed some zoans closed, and an sps dying, do you think they are the cause?

01/23/2018, 05:53 AM	#6
ReefNomad Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 130	With asterina, you can normally tell if they're eating something they're not supposed to because the photosynthetic algae shows through their skin. If they're grazing heavily on coralline, you'll see pink or purple in them under normal white light. If they're grazing on SPS, you should see specks of the coral color showing up in the skin of the star.