Asterina starfish

[dirty_south87]

I have found what is the second asterina starfish. I have learned they are pest. What are ways to get rid of them? I have heard of certain shrimps will take care of the problems.

 

[jabberwock]

Harlequin shrimp. Be prepared to rehome the shrimp after they eat all the starfish or the shrimps will starve. If you only have a few asterinas, maybe just manual removal when you see them.

 

[dirty_south87]

Harlequin shrimp. Be prepared to rehome the shrimp after they eat all the starfish or the shrimps will starve. If you only have a few asterinas, maybe just manual removal when you see them.

I honestly don’t know how many are in there really. This is the second one I seen and I have removed them both. where Did they come from?

 

[jabberwock]

HItchhikers

 

[dirty_south87]

HItchhikers

Do they take a long grow and start being noticeable? I’ve had my system running for about a year now

 

[Uncle99]

Do they take a long grow and start being noticeable? I’ve had my system running for about a year now

Just pull them when you see them.
I pull 1-2 every week for 5 years, never a problem.

 

[reefteaser]

Who knows? A lot of tanks have them. Today I pulled a monster (thumbnail size) out of my sump!
I’ve heard of a species that harm coral, but that they are rare. It’s mostly a problem of population control.
I’ve tried harlequin shrimps, and they will absolutely (eventually) wipe them out. Feeding them starfish afterwards was cool at first, but turned into a pain. Nowadays, I “hunt” them. Small pointy tweezers and a flashlight work wonders.

 

[dirty_south87]

Just pull them when you see them.
I pull 1-2 every week for 5 years, never a problem.

I’ll be sure to keep doing that, im still relatively new to most of this. when I first found one I thought my sand shifter starfish had babies

 

[dirty_south87]

Who knows? A lot of tanks have them. Today I pulled a monster (thumbnail size) out of my sump!
I’ve heard of a species that harm coral, but that they are rare. It’s mostly a problem of population control.
I’ve tried harlequin shrimps, and they will absolutely (eventually) wipe them out. Feeding them starfish afterwards was cool at first, but turned into a pain. Nowadays, I “hunt” them. Small pointy tweezers and a flashlight work wonders.

I’ve been lucky so far finding them on the glass while doing my maintenance and feeding. I try to make my setup as natural as possible, is why I’m trying to find a solution so I won’t stress my fishes out