Hitchhiker Starfish ID?

LgTas

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This guy has been in our DT since it hitch hiked in on day one 8 months ago.

It's put some size on and I suspect it may have snacked on a blasto frag that admittedly wasn't doing so well. It's now on the side of my hammer which is a bit concerning. Any idea if it's a Coral eating starfish? It's my wife's favourite so I'm loath to remove it.
20210926_191451.jpg
 

Danroo

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It does resembles a healthy looking Asterina ( which eat corals ), but I’m no expert.
 
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LgTas

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Peeled him off and I'm pretty sure he was externally digesting the side of the hammer.

He's been banished to the nem tank.

Would still like to know what species it is.
 

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At first I thought Asterina but the colors threw me off. I believe you have a juvenile cushion star. (Culcita novaeguineae) The colors can vary considerably and change with age. I tried to find an individual as close to yours as possible. The species is known to exist in Australian waters. Neat starfish if not for the coral munching. They grow large and very dome shaped as they age. Almost looking inflated.
1632649607511.png
 
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LgTas

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At first I thought Asterina but the colors threw me off. I believe you have a juvenile cushion star. (Culcita novaeguineae) The colors can vary considerably and change with age. I tried to find an individual as close to yours as possible. The species is known to exist in Australian waters. Neat starfish if not for the coral munching. They grow large and very dome shaped as they age. Almost looking inflated.
1632649607511.png
This is what I thought when I first had a look around Google.

Any ideas if my nems are safe?
 

Isopod80

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In my opinion it's one of those cool finds that's almost worth its own smaller tank. If you can keep it going to adult size it would be pretty impressive. .....and besides your wife likes it. ;)
 

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I can't say for certain about the nems but it's less likely to eat them than coral I would think. I'd feed it some shrimp/silversides etc. to keep it happy.
 
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LgTas

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In my opinion it's one of those cool finds that's almost worth its own smaller tank. If you can keep it going to adult size it would be pretty impressive. .....and besides your wife likes it. ;)
Haha it's that or book a ticket to Queensland to release it. I'll monitor it and try feed it some small fish offcuts that I regularly have. Thanks for the advice!
 

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Yeah, keep an eye on the nems for now. You should notice any trouble pretty easily/quickly. If you keep it fed it should be fine.
 
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Zoa_Fanatic

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It’s not an asterina. I’ve killed thousands of them in all colors. Pretty neat dude. If you feed the coral eaters fish chunks they’ll leave your corals alone mostly.
 
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LgTas

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I've since moved him to our sump which is more like a macroalgae/xenia refugium. He seems happy and is enjoying the treats. He can go to town on the xenia too as it's purely there for nutrient export.

Will try remember to post pic updates as he grows.
 
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LgTas

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He is and he's putting on some weight!

I'll try grab a pic of him when I see him next. I've just set up a 60gal soft coral sea horse tank. Once that's more mature I may move him in there as he hasn't touched the xenia.

Pic of his current home/my sump.
20211122_202732.jpg
 

Zoa_Fanatic

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He is and he's putting on some weight!

I'll try grab a pic of him when I see him next. I've just set up a 60gal soft coral sea horse tank. Once that's more mature I may move him in there as he hasn't touched the xenia.

Pic of his current home/my sump.
20211122_202732.jpg
That’s a great idea. Keeps the Xenia cut down and you don’t have to worry about expensive corals.
 
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LgTas

LgTas

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Finally got a decent pic of him. Seems to enjoy large pellets but also appears to eat limpets as they're everywhere except in his section of the sump.
20220104_204559.jpg
 

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