I have a fairly new tank setup and new to saltwater, I attempted to identify this star fish bc I never bought one, it might have hitchhiked from my cheato I bought recently. I just noticed this guy today.
Friend or foe
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Asterina. You'll get both sides good and bad from people here. Biggest complaint, they really like coraline algae so your rocks will have a bunch of white spots. They multiple quickly
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Asternia star.
Some say they are great CUC, some say they eat zoas and other softies. I personally leave them be, and have not noticed a single problem. They breed like mice, and can get to plague proportions.
With that said, I do own a harlequin shrimp who takes care of the population for me.
Some say they are great CUC, some say they eat zoas and other softies. I personally leave them be, and have not noticed a single problem. They breed like mice, and can get to plague proportions.
With that said, I do own a harlequin shrimp who takes care of the population for me.
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With that said, I do own a few corals, I have a medium size green tip anemone and a 9 head duncan. If hes safe I'll keep it but I do like my coraline algae lol I'll watch my tank for a few days and see what happens. Thanks for the identification.
there are many different species of asterinas. yours appears to be the harmless kind. if you see fancy coloured ones then you may need to start worrying as they seem to be the ones that go after corals.
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It's kinda funny bc we were just talking about starfish last night, we just hadn't done enough research on them to make a decision yet and then we wake up and boom! Again. Thanks, I feel a little less worried. But I'm gonna continue my research, just needed a starting point lol
DEF asterinas. they can multiply and be out of control if you let your water quality slip. other than that, they are beneficial in the long term they are filter feeders and they help keep coraline down. once your tank is established....even coraline algae can be a nuisance
It really won't get much bigger than that so if you're looking starfish you should still get one!
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Good to know, we are still making a decision whether to QT it till we decide to just let it flourish lol I'm perfectly fine on keeping it, FREE FISH...lol seems like everyone is 50 50 on the idea of them as good or bad...decisions decisions
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This. They never get bigger than about as round as a nail head. And the comments about them reproducing like crazy is accurate. It'll go from one to a dozen to hundreds in the matter of a month or two if you let it.
They've never messed with anything in my tank. I scrap them when there gets to be too many. Sadly, they're one of the first things people notice about 30% of the time.
i have not had one but i now tend to remove anything that can be a long term nuisance as they usually do but i would assume they would be somewhat easy to remove later as they are not like some corals that attach to the rock
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QTing the asterina? If you've got one, you've probably already got 10. LOL. They're just a hitchhiker. You probably don't have much choice in that decision to keep them or not.
I don't think anyone has ever purposely purchased asterinas. LOL.
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Welcome to the reef!
My opinion on asterinas... the whitish ones are ok. The grey/brown ones eat corals. I watched a grey one crawl up the shaft of an acro colony and mow down all the polyps in his path. There was a white streak up the side of the acro when he finished. Eventually I got a harlequin shrimp and he got them all. Now I have to buy starfish to feed him. ;Cyclops
My opinion on asterinas... the whitish ones are ok. The grey/brown ones eat corals. I watched a grey one crawl up the shaft of an acro colony and mow down all the polyps in his path. There was a white streak up the side of the acro when he finished. Eventually I got a harlequin shrimp and he got them all. Now I have to buy starfish to feed him. ;Cyclops
asterinas mostly reproduce by literally splitting itself apart. that's why you will never see a perfect starfish shape. they are always regrowing the legs they lost when they split.
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I'm sure in a week or two I'll see more. No telling how long I've had this guy. Last time I bought rock was over a month ago and that was for my sump, I bought a blue hippo a week ago and I know he wasnt in the bag....my guess is I've had him for at least a month, the longest being 3mo since that is when I set up my tank.
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