Am I tripping????? But is this a starfish?

[DuvalTilWeDie904]

Hey..

I just bought of coral from a LFS and once I had a chance to look at the coral (while its still in the bag), I noticed what looks like a starfish! Hopefully my mind isn't playing games on me, but can someone confirm this and inform of the type of starfish (if that's what it is) for me as I cant open the bag at my current location.

 

[fishski13]

yes asterina starfish

 

[afrokobe]

correct, looks like an asterina starfish. opinions are mixed on it, some people don't mind them, while others will get rid of them.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

That's a small starfish yes. Many call them asterina stars. They are not desirable in opinion. I caught a few of them munching on assorted polyps.

 

[NickHolmes]

That looks like the coral eating type I had in my tank. The white ones are generally reef safe

 

[homer1475]

Naa your tripping.


As said already, asternia star.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Pull em out. They will prob multiply and yes they will sit on top of zoas and palys

 

[Chris99999]

I had something like that in my tank. Tiny starfish about the size of a pinky nail. Mine were white, not gray like the pic. They did multiply but stuck to the back wall. For me they did not seem to harm anything.

 

[SchrutesReefs]

If you don’t off that thing now, you’ll have a dozen by breakfast tomorrow

 

[brmc1985]

Pull em out. They will prob multiply and yes they will sit on top of zoas and palys

I have lots of asterinas and haven’t seen a problem with zoas

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, asterina starfish (technically Aquilonastra, but known in the hobby as Asterina). Personally, I like them, but they do reproduce quickly (very quickly), and some people believe they eat corals (see my quotes below).

With regards to whether or not they eat corals, it might be a species specific thing, it might be a you have way too many starfish so they're out of other food options thing, or it might be they're eating the slime coat/mucus on the coral rather than the coral itself (see below).

The quote I referred to in my quote above:

It's an Aquilonastra spp. starfish and is a great scavenger. I see them with anywhere from 4 to 12 legs. The whole discusion around them seems to me excellent examples of misidentification, mistaken behaviour and assumed causality based just on heresay without looking at the research. Asterina spp starfish are preditary but only reproduce sexually and are shortlived so while it's possible some might get into a tank even if it did happen it's not going to be around long. Aquilonastra are one of the uncommon species that reproduce fissiparous or by splitting so are easy to identify by the different sized legs regrown after splitting. They perform an important function not only feeding off algae films but also feeding off microbial films including those on corals (at least ones that don't sting). FYI the mucus coating on corals ages and corals have to periodicely shed it to renew it and maintian healthy microbial processes (Ref 1, Ref 2). If Aquilonastra are feeding on zoas or softies I'll argue they are either benign or even beneficial as they may be reducing the unhealthy older mucus which can be full of unhealthy microbes which the animal is trying to get rid of and are far more likely to be the actual problem.

Here's an example, this Toadstool is doing one of it's periodic sheddings. The Aquilonastra have been in this system for years but only climb onto the Toadstool when it's shedding. In the first picture you can see the old mucus film, Aquilonastra starfish and areas they have cleaned off. The second picture shows the Toadstool a week later.

 

[Mark Gray]

I have quite a few of the white one's they don't bother anything. Seem to eat a bit of alage.

 

[CoralB]

If you don’t off that thing now, you’ll have a dozen by breakfast tomorrow

Enough to make a starfish sandwich on a bagel or toast !!!

 

[Forty-Two]

In my experience they are harmless and good for biodiversity. I have many in my tank - and many different types of corals. I have not seen any issues with them yet.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hey..

I just bought of coral from a LFS and once I had a chance to look at the coral (while its still in the bag), I noticed what looks like a starfish! Hopefully my mind isn't playing games on me, but can someone confirm this and inform of the type of starfish (if that's what it is) for me as I cant open the bag at my current location.

remove IMO, hard to tell if its a coral eater or harmless