Help ID'ing this guy

[imDarrin]

Hi group - and thank you ahead of time!
Found this little guy hanging on the side of my newly acquired tank, and wondering what it is, and if it should be removed sooner than later?
The little research I did on my own is pointing me towards an asterinid sea star

 

[keagan]

Asterina I've seen them eat zoa's but there's different species (asterina is a genus) and some species are harmless. I veer on the side of caution but you'll get mixed opinions on removing it.

 

[tbrown]

What color is its back?

 

[EnterName]

Most likely Asterina sp. or Aquilonastra sp., very common hitchhikers. These two genera are pretty much impossible to differentiate without a microscope. Both belong to the Asterinidae family so the community refers to all of them as "Asterina" even though this isn't fully correct.

Some species have developed an appetite for zoanthids which can make them an unwelcome tank inhabitant. If you don't have any zoas, they are harmless tank cleaners. However, their population explodes quite fast as they reproduce by splitting off a few arms from which a completely new starfish grows. That's why you will find a whole lot of them with too few or too many arms after a while.

Manual removal or a harlequin shrimp are the only way to keep their numbers at bay, but a harlequin shrimp means you cannot keep any other starfish and if there aren't enough asterina available, the shrimp will starve.

 

[GJW]

When in doubt, take it out!