Asterina Stars

[Bruce Burnett]

@Diesel, So who has a good solution on getting rid of Asterina Stars without tearing down tank or putting other inhabitants at risk. My biggest problem is they are hard on coralline algae and excess number looks ugly. Tried starving tank and fish and all I got was more aggressive fish and bad coral reaction from too clean water.

 

[newjack]

add a harlequin shrimp or 2

 

[Bruce Burnett]

add a harlequin shrimp or 2

Problem is I don't have a LFS within 2.5 hours and what do I do with the harlequin shrimp when the asterina stars are all gone.

 

[Diesel]

@newjack is right for 50%........... just add one ;)
But what you need to do today is you catch 20 asterinas and put them in your sump on a piece of life rock.
Than you order one good size Harlequin shrimp and release it in the tank.
He will wipe out your asterina population but stories like a week or a month is overrated.
I have a 200 gallon and it took mine who's pretty big almost a year :) as I had a lots of these little asterina devils.
The thing is my tank doesn't have much coralline algae as I hate that stuff and for that I keep my ALK as low as I can at 7.3 and yet my acro's used to grow like weeds, that said is that they live of coralline algae only isn't much of a point.
Ok back to the harlequin shrimp as by now we come to the point............... ok so my asterias are gone :eek: what now???
Well by that time your asterina population in the sump is doing pretty good and to keep them going you have a piece of rock that you switch out from time to time with some coralline algae on it from your tank.
At the same time you take out one or two of the asterinas and either throw it in your tank as Mr Harlequin will find it or you feed him as I do when he's out with tweezers.
In the beginning the Harlequin will try to get a way from you but when it realize after two times you bringing him food he'll stay and will get it of your tweezers :)
You don't have to feed it every day as I feed mine only when he's out in front and that can be like once a week or four times a week.
The thing is that your asterina's never get wiped out, you don't see them as they can be pretty small and will be in the little holes of your rock.
Your harlequin lives of that most part but feeding him a good size will be a welcome snack to him

And if you have a friend in a local club who can give you a small piece of sea-starfish leg that he cuts off :rolleyes: from a sand shifter or something as it will grow back, you can feed that piece as well to him.
Oh don't buy any starfish for your tank as suddenly you will see that the harlequin will eat that star fish and not the asterina star fish.

That simple!

 

[Bruce Burnett]

add a harlequin shrimp or 2

thank you

 

[Diesel]

Your welcome my friend, another Great thread!

 

[Bruce Burnett]

@newjack is right for 50%........... just add one ;)
But what you need to do today is you catch 20 asterinas and put them in your sump on a piece of life rock.
Than you order one good size Harlequin shrimp and release it in the tank.
He will wipe out your asterina population but stories like a week or a month is overrated.
I have a 200 gallon and it took mine who's pretty big almost a year :) as I had a lots of these little asterina devils.
The thing is my tank doesn't have much coralline algae as I hate that stuff and for that I keep my ALK as low as I can at 7.3 and yet my acro's used to grow like weeds, that said is that they live of coralline algae only isn't much of a point.
Ok back to the harlequin shrimp as by now we come to the point............... ok so my asterias are gone :eek: what now???
Well by that time your asterina population in the sump is doing pretty good and to keep them going you have a piece of rock that you switch out from time to time with some coralline algae on it from your tank.
At the same time you take out one or two of the asterinas and either throw it in your tank as Mr Harlequin will find it or you feed him as I do when he's out with tweezers.
In the beginning the Harlequin will try to get a way from you but when it realize after two times you bringing him food he'll stay and will get it of your tweezers :)
You don't have to feed it every day as I feed mine only when he's out in front and that can be like once a week or four times a week.
The thing is that your asterina's never get wiped out, you don't see them as they can be pretty small and will be in the little holes of your rock.
Your harlequin lives of that most part but feeding him a good size will be a welcome snack to him

And if you have a friend in a local club who can give you a small piece of sea-starfish leg that he cuts off :rolleyes: from a sand shifter or something as it will grow back, you can feed that piece as well to him.
Oh don't buy any starfish for your tank as suddenly you will see that the harlequin will eat that star fish and not the asterina star fish.

That simple!

Thanks That make more sense than keeping a chocolate chip star in the sump and cutting pieces off. Cycling asterinas makes sense.