Baby starfish?

SandyBay

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Hi all, I just set up my nano reef tank a week ago and found this starfish on my snail’s back. I don’t know if this is good or bad... Also my other snail has a cracked shell and I don’t know what caused it. Any ideas?
7C935D13-008E-42F5-A799-29DF5251D240.jpeg
 

RedReefer

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I would remove the starfish and trash it. I started with zero. Now every morning I pic out 10-15 and trash them. They were eating my coraline and Zoas.



Looks like:
Asterina starfish do multiply very fast and get out of control pretty rapidly. Although some people get lucky for years. Do not be tricked, they are not your friends! Not only do they become a nuisance but they also can start attacking coralline algae, polyps, and corals or simply irritating them.
 

vetteguy53081

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Asterina starfish can be destructive especially with zoa coral
Had one eat almost an entire colony of my zoa
Remove by hand or a small net daily
 

vetteguy53081

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I would remove the starfish and trash it. I started with zero. Now every morning I pic out 10-15 and trash them. They were eating my coraline and Zoas.



Looks like:
Asterina starfish do multiply very fast and get out of control pretty rapidly. Although some people get lucky for years. Do not be tricked, they are not your friends! Not only do they become a nuisance but they also can start attacking coralline algae, polyps, and corals or simply irritating them.
Not that they breed or multiply. What actually happens is you get one as hitchhiker, they break off a leg that becomes another one. They both break off a leg and now there’s 4 and they too do the same and so forth
 

DaddyFish

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took it out immediately ahaha. So scary!!!
You just got started and already critters!!!
:rolleyes:
Wasn't it just a couple days ago I was welcoming you!!!???

Medical school, right? Here's a link for info on the Asterina Starfish. Probably required reading at some point in your educational process. Might as well get a head start!
:)
 
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SandyBay

SandyBay

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Not that they breed or multiply. What actually happens is you get one as hitchhiker, they break off a leg that becomes another one. They both break off a leg and now there’s 4 and they too do the same and so forth
I removed mine immediately! I got so scared!! HAHA
 
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SandyBay

SandyBay

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You just got started and already critters!!!
:rolleyes:
Wasn't it just a couple days ago I was welcoming you!!!???

Medical school, right? Here's a link for info on the Asterina Starfish. Probably required reading at some point in your educational process. Might as well get a head start!
:)
That's right!! Thank you for the article I appreciate it!
 

don_chuwish

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The more you read about them the more you'll see conflicting information. I think the truth is that some can be bad, some can be a great part of the clean up crew and overall biome. I had hundreds in my tank and got convinced they were harassing my zoas. Two Harlequin shrimp wiped them all out in about 6 weeks. Can't say I've noticed any beneficial result. In fact I wonder if a brown algae outbreak may have been the only notable result.
 
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SandyBay

SandyBay

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The more you read about them the more you'll see conflicting information. I think the truth is that some can be bad, some can be a great part of the clean up crew and overall biome. I had hundreds in my tank and got convinced they were harassing my zoas. Two Harlequin shrimp wiped them all out in about 6 weeks. Can't say I've noticed any beneficial result. In fact I wonder if a brown algae outbreak may have been the only notable result.
That's what I'm getting too. I thought it better to take it out just in case it could cause future problems. But same- I agree with the conflicting information
 

MR BACKHAND

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Here are a few I collected today.
 

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Murica

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Even the ones that don’t eat coral are bad.. I saw one or two, fast forward a month and i had hundreds. Harlequin shrimp worked great but didn’t get them all. Fortunately the tank was fowlr at that time so I hypo’d the entire tank for about 2 weeks which took care of the problem
 

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