Colony of serpent sea stars in my powerheads

[jtdesigner]

I noticed my powerheads seemed to be gunked up, so I took them apart and started scrubbing...next thing I know I'm pulling out tiny serpent stars... I dipped the head back into the tank and shook it a bit and they started flying out from everywhere! This population explosion stems from one hitchhiker that showed up on a coral I bought about six months ago. Should I be concerned with the number of these in my tank?

 

[KrisReef]

Maybe. They are scavengers and if you are getting overwhelmed with them that might indicate that you are over feeding the tank.

I like them and have found them in my powerheads, under rocks and other cryptic locations where they hide out. I toss them back in when I find them.