Can anyone identify this white starfish?

livinlifeinBKK

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
5,720
Reaction score
5,189
Location
Bangkok
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This little guy came in on a piece of live rock...he's been making his way around my tank and seems to like something on the rocks that I assume is algae or biofilm... likely from the Gulf of Thailand or the Andaman Sea... probably the Gulf... He has 7 arms
IMG_20211215_014212.jpg
 

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
YUK!!!!!!Asterina...depending on what in your system, they can mutate and become lil terror on your Zoas if you have them...also unsightly if you do not want them around...but IF you see ONE, always consider there is more than one, two, three, four, etc...the multiply like crazy
 

Duncan62

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Messages
1,458
Reaction score
1,284
Location
Kannapolis
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
YUK!!!!!!Asterina...depending on what in your system, they can mutate and become lil terror on your Zoas if you have them...also unsightly if you do not want them around...but IF you see ONE, always consider there is more than one, two, three, four, etc...the multiply like crazy
Most of these are harmless. I've heard of zoa issues but have never witnessed it. They're in all my tanks. Be careful if try to catch it. You'll just make more. Lol
 

jphilip813

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
884
Reaction score
570
Location
In The 915
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Most of these are harmless. I've heard of zoa issues but have never witnessed it. They're in all my tanks. Be careful if try to catch it. You'll just make more. Lol
Absolutely ...get ready for the battle (unless u get the harquin shrimp)...and that you have to maintain if enough asternia shrimp are not in ur system
 

Nemo&Friends

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 4, 2021
Messages
705
Reaction score
778
Location
Charlotte,
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have hundreds of asterina. They eat algae on the glass but I do not have corals. they do multiply. I got an harlequin shrimp, in a smaller tank, and feed it asterina every week. It eats about 3 a day.
 

moz71

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Messages
1,354
Reaction score
1,293
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got hundreds and just leave them alone. Haven’t bothered my zoas at all. I did learn something awhile back from someone on this forum that there are really 2 kinds of asterina starfish and almost everyone puts in one class. One can be harmful but the asterina we mostly see is harmless I think the big difference was the harmless take on different shapes and leg lengths but the not so good one is perfectly symmetrical.
 

Intense37754

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
336
Reaction score
224
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Agreed, we have a tank full of zoas and stars and never see missing zoas
Unfortunately a harlequin could wipe out a tank and starve plus they sometimes need meatier stars like parts of chocolate chip.
 

moz71

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Messages
1,354
Reaction score
1,293
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I believe those are aquilonastra starfish. Commonly mistaken as asterina stars.
They are actually very good for your reef environment eating algae and dead tissue. Many will falsely claim that they eat coral, although they do not. They may be seen eating dead or dying tissue off a coral.
Don’t throw them out, they are beneficial. They will reproduce but will reach a limit depending on food resources.

Here was the post I mentioned. From @BTimms very helpful!
 

MaxTremors

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
3,625
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Boise
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have had 3-4, maybe even 5 different species of these (and they are not in the Asterina genus, they are in Aquilonastra), and none have ever eaten any corals. I’ve seen a lot of people claim that they eat corals, but I’ve never seen actual proof, it seems to me that if it was such a common thing, it would be easy to prove. They won’t get out of control so long as you don’t over feed and keep nutrients in check (having lots of algae and an inadequate CuC will lead to more of them, but population will stay low if there isn’t an abundance of food). Also, this is not a mutation or disfigured star fish, they reproduce by growing new arms and then fragmenting themselves, they split sort of similar to anemones and corals (though they are echinoderms not cnidarians, but same concept). Personally I like them, but I like most harmless hitchhikers, all of the microfauna from good live rock is half of what makes reef tanks interesting. If you want to get rid of them, go for it, it’s your tank, but IMO they are harmless if beneficial (they can get into places to eat algae that a lot of other members of your CuC can’t get to). Also, even if you have a massive population, harlequin shrimp will go through them quickly (they eat the tube feet of star fish, not the whole thing) and then slowly starve to death. There is nothing sadder than watching a usually active animal become completely sedentary because it’s trying to conserve energy because it’s starving. Their population would be much better controlled by limiting nutrients, not feeding too much, and having a robust CuC.
 

LiveFreeAndReef

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Messages
1,968
Reaction score
2,627
Location
New Hampshire
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
+1 to what @MaxTremors said, they're a beneficial part of your CUC. For every one person that swears that they eat zoas, there's 100 other people with cohabitating "asterinas" and zoas that have never had a problem with them.
 
Back
Top