Help ID Starfish

[drodge]

I need help ID'ing some starfish. I recently bought some corals from a local shop for a relatively new reef setup. Shortly afterwards, I noticed a couple of very tiny white starfish in the tank. At first they were barely visible, but they are have grown to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch in size in the past couple weeks. I've read that most starfish are terrible for reefs, so I'm anxious to get rid of them unless someone can positively ID them as harmless. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[bios]

Asterina...

 

[cloak]

It looks like an Asterina starfish to me as well. Whether that one is a good guy or bad guy is anybody's guess.

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

 

[drodge]

Thanks, that's what I was leaning toward after researching. The consensus from most sites seems to be they are probably harmless, but may reproduce quickly. I only see a few, so I think I'll just try to pull them out before they become a problem.

 

[4FordFamily]

Asterina - they seem to take over with poor water quality (high phosphates and nitrates). For years I used them as a gauge to when to do water changes. Mine never hurt anything but did take over when my husbandry slacked

 

[drodge]

Well, that makes sense. I've struggled to keep phosphates down and have had algae issues off and on when the levels go up.

Thanks to everyone for all the input.