Tiny white starfish too many ??

[diverrk]

Ok I'm strating to notice alot of these tiny starfish . I know where they origionated from, I bought a couple of things from someone on NJRC, which had alot of these in his tank. Foolish me didn't even give it a thought.

How do I keep these things in check, is there something that would eat them ?


Thanks
Rich K

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

harlequin shrimp.... but it is advisable to suppliment their diet with other stars, aqua ob is where i got mine, real good price

 

[diverrk]

I'll have to stop by there today.

I'm looking real closely and see alot of them on rock, one hitchhiking on a crab.


These are the ones I have.

 

[qwik]

I also have them in my tank and have been told they are no threat . I have not seen them do anything wrong yet so I have let them be . A harlequen shrimp will get rid of them real fast,along with every other starfish in your tank . And then like reflections said you will have to supplement there diet with starfish .

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

when i only had a few i thought, no big deal, just another creature, but they reproduce by fission and can over populate to pest proprtions and start to irritate some corals, so keep an eye on them

 

[diverrk]

I have a feeling they might have been the problem with my clam. After I dipped the clam a whole buch of them fell off of it.

 

[redfishbluefish]

That is an Asterina star. They are herbivores (eat plants). Some consider them a nuisance. I have them, and if I see too many, pluck them out and put them in the refugium.

My understanding with harlequin shrimp is that it is hit-or-miss if they have an interest in chowing down on asterina. Some have said that their harlequin didn’t touch the asterina in their tank, and preferred to starve before eating one.

Diverrk, as far as your clam, the only thing I could think of is that they found a comfortable house in your clam (being herbivores). Now my guess is that your clam had pinched mantle and the fresh water cured the problem (with the asterina not being a problem in the clam), or that the only problem your clam had was the irritation of all those asterina in its shell. That’s my guess.

 

[diverrk]

All seems pretty logical, as far as the Harlequin even if it doen't work it gives me an excuse to buy such a nice looking shrimp ;D

 

[Hawkeye]

That is an Asterina star. They are herbivores (eat plants).

Can you provide some documentation where you found this? I'm been hearing conflicting accounts and I frankly I don't believe everything I read on the internet. That stated, I rip out asterina as soon as I see them. After hearing them congregate on his clam - that makes me redouble my efforts since I plan on having clams - and I don't want them irritating my clams.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Can you provide some documentation where you found this? 

Hawk, I don't have a reference...this is what was explained to me...the white / tan asterina are herbivores....keep them, they'll eat algae.  There are other genis of asterina that have been know to enjoy some of the sps in particular, but they are solid colored or multicolored genis of asterina. 

However, I think if you have any doubt, rip them out.

Edited to Add:  After you query, I did a quick search and found this article on the Reefkeeping website.  If you check out the bottom of the page, just before the summary, it discusses asterina.  To simplify, it states that asterina are opportunistic.  If their normal food source isn’t there (especially true in our over skimmed, algae free, filtered tanks), they will resort to eating stuff not normally eaten.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/index.php

 

[MadReefer]

Phil, I also have heard conflicting info about them. Since my son pulled out a bunch manually this morning he questioned why they were different. Seems I have 2 types: one has short stubby arms and the other has long thinner arms. I guess it comes done to species and one is safe and the other maybe not.

 

[diverrk]

Well I picked up a Harlequin from AO, hope she's hungry !

 

[redfishbluefish]

Well I picked up a Harlequin from AO, hope she's hungry !

Diverrk, I say this with great ignorance...it is what I’ve read, because I know nothing first hand!

Pluck an asterina and hand feed your new Harlequin so that it knows it is food. The Harlequin now has the taste for asterina (they say it tastes like chicken ;D), and will continue to eat it. Repeat the first sentence directions until the shrimp gets the taste. Eat up!

 

[diverrk]

LOL "Taste like chicken"

That actually sounds like a good idea depending she lets me approach her with it.


Thanks

Rich

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

when i put mine in, they were kinda huddling in the corner, i just strted dropping the little stars all around them until they noticed, picked one up and started munching... now almost everytime i look in there, they're doing their job

 

[Hawkeye]

Can you provide some documentation where you found this?

Hawk, I don't have a reference...this is what was explained to me...the white / tan asterina are herbivores....keep them, they'll eat algae. There are other genis of asterina that have been know to enjoy some of the sps in particular, but they are solid colored or multicolored genis of asterina.

However, I think if you have any doubt, rip them out.

Edited to Add: After you query, I did a quick search and found this article on the Reefkeeping website. If you check out the bottom of the page, just before the summary, it discusses asterina. To simplify, it states that asterina are opportunistic. If their normal food source isn’t there (especially true in our over skimmed, algae free, filtered tanks), they will resort to eating stuff not normally eaten.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/index.php

Thanks Red! I was just wondering because if you had something - it could help put to rest a lot of the different internet rumors. But yes - I agree - when in doubt (but they are so tiny and such a pain to grab).

 

[Jenn]

I have seen a couple of these little chip stars in my tank

Are they going to rapidly multiply?

is this something I should be concered about as I have corals?

Thanks

jenn

 

[redfishbluefish]

Keep an eye on them. Look to see if it’s the variety that munches on coral.

As far as rapid growth, it seems that in some tanks they multiply like rabbits, while in others, they are rather slow growers. I have them and it’s not a problem. Every once in a while I’ll see maybe 4 or 5 and pluck them out and put them in the fuge. I know others that have plucked out hundreds because they have over-run the tank rather quickly.

If you want to play it super safe, just pluck them out now.

 

[Jenn]

yeah, That's what I've been doing trying to take them out as i see them
They are so tiny and hard to grab LOL
I've seen one on the tank wall and tried to get it and it floated off to somewhere else
The long teasers work good , sometimes... tiny little guys are hard to get

 

[MadReefer]

I noticed that these guys like to hang around on a carpet of green star polyps. The polyps have died off, only have about 3 or 4 polyps left. My son was able to get about 100 of these starts out in 15 minutes. He took my 4" net and angled it against the glass. He started from the bottom and as they were hit by the net they fell off into it.