Friend or foe?

[Vcamp25]

Hey guys I have found two of these starfish and am wondering what they are and should I remove? I currently see two in the tank?

 

[Scorpius]

Asternia starfish
https://reefbuilders.com/2016/03/30...duction-to-this-common-reef-aquarium-critter/

 

[Gtinnel]

Friend or foe depends on who you ask. Most people either hate them or are neutral about them. They will supposedly eat certain zoas.

 

[Vcamp25]

Asternia starfish
https://reefbuilders.com/2016/03/30...duction-to-this-common-reef-aquarium-critter/

Thank you

 

[Scorpius]

Thank you

 

[Vcamp25]

Friend or foe depends on who you ask. Most people either hate them or are neutral about them. They will supposedly eat certain zoas.

Ok good to know! I have some Zoas and will keep and eye on them. I also have an algae issue that I’m trying to stabilize and my use them as it says they can do a number on algae…

 

[MaxTremors]

In my 20+ years in the hobby I’ve never seen one or seen a verified report of an ‘asterina’ eating corals, they do eat dead coral tissue though, so if you have corals that don’t look good and see ‘asterina’ starfish nearby they’re just eating the dead tissue, but are not the cause of the dead tissue. Also, what we commonly call ‘Asterina’ starfish are not in the Asterina genus (they are in the Asterinidae family), they are in the genus Aquilonastra. Asterina starfish are much larger than the stars we commonly see in the hobby and refer to as ‘Asterinas’.

 

[Vcamp25]

In my 20+ years in the hobby I’ve never seen one or seen a verified report of an ‘asterina’ eating corals, they do eat dead coral tissue though, so if you have corals that don’t look good and see ‘asterina’ starfish nearby they’re just eating the dead tissue, but are not the cause of the dead tissue. Also, what we commonly call ‘Asterina’ starfish are not in the Asterina genus (they are in the Asterinidae family), they are in the genus Aquilonastra. Asterina starfish are much larger than the stars we commonly see in the hobby and refer to as ‘Asterinas’.

Thank you so much I’m going to leave them be I feel like they will have plenty to occupy their time!