Asterina Starfish...SO Annoying

Pkunk35

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
1,988
Reaction score
1,126
Location
Chicago
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Harlequins cant subsist on asterina alone for a long time, there are not enough tube feet per starfish so keep that in mind. They will seem fine and then die during molt or not regrow limbs ime.
 
OP
OP
jphilip813

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Harlequins cant subsist on asterina alone for a long time, there are not enough tube feet per starfish so keep that in mind. They will seem fine and then die during molt or not regrow limbs ime.
Is that the only thing they eat or do they need other items to consume?
 

Pkunk35

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
1,988
Reaction score
1,126
Location
Chicago
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is that the only thing they eat or do they need other items to consume?

they only eat the tube feet of starfish. They eat asterina like popcorn and when you see how they devour a whole chocolate in a week, you’d understand how tiny asterina couldn’t sustain one for long. I used a pair to wipe a plague from my 20g and they ate 100% of them in about 10 days or so. I lost one during this time and this is when I found out they need meaty tube feet and often. Absolutely one of my favorite inverts! Worth trying to keep if you are down to buy a starfish all the time. You don’t have to cut off legs either, they are fully capable of holding the starfish in place until the whole thing is done and easily one of the most entertaining predator/prey capture interaction in a home aquaria. They literally use their paddles to do a handstand as they use their back legs to pry the starfish leg off the ground...Maybe this is why they pair mate for life because it is SO much easier for them to capture large prey and hold them.
 

SHNICI

Well-Known Member and Coral Cabin owner
View Badges
Joined
Jun 20, 2018
Messages
1,573
Reaction score
1,440
Location
Kent
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
they only eat the tube feet of starfish. They eat asterina like popcorn and when you see how they devour a whole chocolate in a week, you’d understand how tiny asterina couldn’t sustain one for long. I used a pair to wipe a plague from my 20g and they ate 100% of them in about 10 days or so. I lost one during this time and this is when I found out they need meaty tube feet and often. Absolutely one of my favorite inverts! Worth trying to keep if you are down to buy a starfish all the time. You don’t have to cut off legs either, they are fully capable of holding the starfish in place until the whole thing is done and easily one of the most entertaining predator/prey capture interaction in a home aquaria. They literally use their paddles to do a handstand as they use their back legs to pry the starfish leg off the ground...Maybe this is why they pair mate for life because it is SO much easier for them to capture large prey and hold them.
good points ;)
About the chocolate starfish I mean if you have 2 in the sump, and you cut off feet per few days to keep feeding the shrimp, the starfish will have enough time to recover it self (and yes then detritus and other planktonic food, which is good to have in the sump for the starfish). But when the shrimp eat all of the feets, the star will die completely, that way cutting off one by one from 2 star, you can get them and the shrimp alive for really long.
 

Pistondog

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Messages
5,267
Reaction score
9,405
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
good points ;)
About the chocolate starfish I mean if you have 2 in the sump, and you cut off feet per few days to keep feeding the shrimp, the starfish will have enough time to recover it self (and yes then detritus and other planktonic food, which is good to have in the sump for the starfish). But when the shrimp eat all of the feets, the star will die completely, that way cutting off one by one from 2 star, you can get them and the shrimp alive for really long.
Have a harlequin that cleaned up the 75 gallon dt.
Chocolate chips are i think cannibalistic, so will eat other starfish.
I have one in each of 4 tanks. Thats not completely accurate, 4/5 in 1 tank, 3/5 in another ...
 
OP
OP
jphilip813

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
they only eat the tube feet of starfish. They eat asterina like popcorn and when you see how they devour a whole chocolate in a week, you’d understand how tiny asterina couldn’t sustain one for long. I used a pair to wipe a plague from my 20g and they ate 100% of them in about 10 days or so. I lost one during this time and this is when I found out they need meaty tube feet and often. Absolutely one of my favorite inverts! Worth trying to keep if you are down to buy a starfish all the time. You don’t have to cut off legs either, they are fully capable of holding the starfish in place until the whole thing is done and easily one of the most entertaining predator/prey capture interaction in a home aquaria. They literally use their paddles to do a handstand as they use their back legs to pry the starfish leg off the ground...Maybe this is why they pair mate for life because it is SO much easier for them to capture large prey and hold them.
Man this is a good read...I wonder if I buy one and one a star fish and place it in the sump until it is time to devour it if that would work
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,861
Reaction score
200,139
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Harlequin shrimp works wonders
 

carmodpg

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
728
Reaction score
703
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I couldn’t agree more that asterina are the most annoying things I have in my tank. They multiple so fast and I know that people say they are harmless, but I have plucked ones out with zoas in their little mouths. People say there are two different kinds, one harmless and a darker brown one that eats zoas. I don’t discriminate anymore. I pull all of them. When they get really bad, I’ll pull hundreds at night out if the tank. They destroy coraline as well. I can tell instantly that a specific patch of zoas has a problem because they’ll shrivel up over night. Sure enough, they’ll be 10 asterinas nibbling away. I pull them and zoas always rebound. I almost pulled the trigger on a harlequin because people have been very successful with them. But I have 4-5 starfish in the tank and I don’t want to sacrifice those guys.
 

xxkenny90xx

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
4,654
Reaction score
6,040
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I couldn’t agree more that asterina are the most annoying things I have in my tank. They multiple so fast and I know that people say they are harmless, but I have plucked ones out with zoas in their little mouths. People say there are two different kinds, one harmless and a darker brown one that eats zoas. I don’t discriminate anymore. I pull all of them. When they get really bad, I’ll pull hundreds at night out if the tank. They destroy coraline as well. I can tell instantly that a specific patch of zoas has a problem because they’ll shrivel up over night. Sure enough, they’ll be 10 asterinas nibbling away. I pull them and zoas always rebound. I almost pulled the trigger on a harlequin because people have been very successful with them. But I have 4-5 starfish in the tank and I don’t want to sacrifice those guys.
Totally agree. I really enjoyed having asterinas for many years, then one day I saw one attached to a zoa. Next day the zoa was gone and another asterina was on another zoa. I'm constantly pulling them out and relocating them to my dedicated hermit crab tank these days.
 

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,677
Reaction score
18,662
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
good points ;)
About the chocolate starfish I mean if you have 2 in the sump, and you cut off feet per few days to keep feeding the shrimp, the starfish will have enough time to recover it self (and yes then detritus and other planktonic food, which is good to have in the sump for the starfish). But when the shrimp eat all of the feets, the star will die completely, that way cutting off one by one from 2 star, you can get them and the shrimp alive for really long.
You can't keep 2 choclate chip together, they are cannibalistic. When you cut a leg off one, the other will devour it. They also do not grow the legs fast enough to keep doing this.

When I had 1 harlequin, I was buying 3 stars a month to keep it fed. Awesome invert for sure, but a tough one to keep fed if your LFS doesn't get regular supply of star's.
 

sawdonkey

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
2,165
Reaction score
3,287
Location
Chicago
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have an insane amount of asterina in my tank. There are at least 100 or so on the glass every morning and just some big ones during the day if my glass is dirty. They absolutely eat zoas. When I look closely at my crushed coral sandbed, I can see hundreds of them per sf. Most of them are just an arm or two, and not a whole star. I would estimate that there are at least 2,000 of them in my tank (210 gallon).

Harlequins are out of the question because I have a large pink face wrasse, a large Picasso trigger, a large niger trigger, and a big zebra moray. I’ve read that linka starfish will eat asterina, but they have survivability issues. I’ve thought about getting sand sifting stars to clean up detritus and eliminate their food source, but I’m not sure that will do it.

It’s been like this for a few years and my tank does fine, I just can’t have zoas and they are a bit unsightly on the glass. Thoughts?
 

Pkunk35

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
1,988
Reaction score
1,126
Location
Chicago
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You can't keep 2 choclate chip together, they are cannibalistic. When you cut a leg off one, the other will devour it. They also do not grow the legs fast enough to keep doing this.

When I had 1 harlequin, I was buying 3 stars a month to keep it fed. Awesome invert for sure, but a tough one to keep fed if your LFS doesn't get regular supply of star's.
I was def also on about a 10 day rotation with my fish store to buy chocolates (so voracious they scour the tank as soon as the starfish enter the water) for the harle but MAN are they gorgeous. They also fan their paddles in the morning current I’ll try to find my old video of mine
 
OP
OP
jphilip813

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I couldn’t agree more that asterina are the most annoying things I have in my tank. They multiple so fast and I know that people say they are harmless, but I have plucked ones out with zoas in their little mouths. People say there are two different kinds, one harmless and a darker brown one that eats zoas. I don’t discriminate anymore. I pull all of them. When they get really bad, I’ll pull hundreds at night out if the tank. They destroy coraline as well. I can tell instantly that a specific patch of zoas has a problem because they’ll shrivel up over night. Sure enough, they’ll be 10 asterinas nibbling away. I pull them and zoas always rebound. I almost pulled the trigger on a harlequin because people have been very successful with them. But I have 4-5 starfish in the tank and I don’t want to sacrifice those guys.
Pulled the trigger on the harlequon today..$69.00 locally plus a military discount...going through the acclimation process right now
 

Attachments

  • 20201205_191039.jpg
    20201205_191039.jpg
    76.6 KB · Views: 48
  • 20201205_191109.jpg
    20201205_191109.jpg
    118.8 KB · Views: 37
OP
OP
jphilip813

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I was def also on about a 10 day rotation with my fish store to buy chocolates (so voracious they scour the tank as soon as the starfish enter the water) for the harle but MAN are they gorgeous. They also fan their paddles in the morning current I’ll try to find my old video of mine
So question, with the Xmas wrasse, will that shrimp be fine? I have a cleaner shrimp and he doesn't bother that one...
 

Pkunk35

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
1,988
Reaction score
1,126
Location
Chicago
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So question, with the Xmas wrasse, will that shrimp be fine? I have a cleaner shrimp and he doesn't bother that one...

hmmm no idea as I never kept fish with it except trimma gobies. They are cryptic and prefer caves hardly moving if no prey so I’d be willing to bet it would be ignored, they certainly do not look good to eat from a color warning standpoint !
 

knightnsd

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
144
Reaction score
148
Location
San Diego California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would get rid of them at all costs, I clean my glass most mornings before the lights come on as they will destroy your coralline algae if left unchecked after I left them alone and they cleaned my rocks of most every piece of corralline algae and zoas closed up. I thought they were just a mild nuisance at one point, now they are ENEMY NUMBER ONE after clearing a ton of my rocks and irritating my corals.
 
OP
OP
jphilip813

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would get rid of them at all costs, I clean my glass most mornings before the lights come on as they will destroy your coralline algae if left unchecked after I left them alone and they cleaned my rocks of most every piece of corralline algae and zoas closed up. I thought they were just a mild nuisance at one point, now they are ENEMY NUMBER ONE after clearing a ton of my rocks and irritating my corals.
I have more than I thought...they are EVERY -****** Where inbetween corals, rocks,,and YES they are all on my Zoas who are now closed up everywhere...
 

knightnsd

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
144
Reaction score
148
Location
San Diego California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have more than I thought...they are EVERY -****** Where inbetween corals, rocks,,and YES they are all on my Zoas who are now closed up everywhere...
if you can lift your corals and rocks up and out, look underneath them during the day and you'll find them lying in wait for the night and start brushing the little bast*** off the bottoms of your corals and rocks then return the rock or coral to your tank. Then wait till night and sweep the glass with a net.
 

jdiefenbaugh

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 15, 2019
Messages
384
Reaction score
582
Location
Omaha, NE
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
thumbnail_null_zps5ded548f.jpg


I've had them in plague proportions, and it didn't bother anything other than they were unsightly. Started by siphoning them out, and then went to predation methods. I don't know anyone who has had this many, this pic is from an 8K gallon exhibit, so there were probably 10s or even 100s of thousands. Nardoa novaecaledoniae is a reef safe starfish that will eat them, if you can find any, or harlequin shrimp of course (don't mix both :D). There are likely large, not reef safe wrasses that will too, but obviously not recommended, either.
 
Back
Top