Is the guy in Marin the 1 of lfs I go to dumb?

[reef guy 56]

The marine specialist at a local fish shop I go to has a frag tank that has an outbreak of Astra starfish the coral, eating variety there is dozen harlequin shrimp in the shop. It’s been two months and he hasn’t moved one in. for 2 months maybe 3. Should I listen to his advice?

 

[Reefing_addiction]

I mean I always get multiple opinions (because that’s what advice is in this hobby) and I also do my own research. Have you noticed corals that looked eaten from said starfish?

What type of advice are you seeking? Maybe don’t ask him about hitchhikers but if the corals look otherwise healthy ask about water parameters and lighting…
do they have a display tank?
Is he responsible for all the upkeep of the corals?
Maybe he is a fish expert?
There is maybe 1 or 2 people at my main LFS that I will ask for advice from - and it’s not the owner who knows his stuff but he acts like he is better than everyone else. I always seek to gain as many other people’s perspective and advice before I make decisions

 

[vetteguy53081]

The marine specialist at a local fish shop I go to has a frag tank that has an outbreak of Astra starfish the coral, eating variety there is dozen harlequin shrimp in the shop. It’s been two months and he hasn’t moved one in. for 2 months maybe 3. Should I listen to his advice?

May be an opportunity to visit another store even if you have to travel

 

[BeanAnimal]

The marine specialist at a local fish shop I go to has a frag tank that has an outbreak of Astra starfish the coral, eating variety there is dozen harlequin shrimp in the shop. It’s been two months and he hasn’t moved one in. for 2 months maybe 3. Should I listen to his advice?

As in asterina stars? They are harmless. Chances are if they are "eating" a coral, said tissue is dying and they are doing what scavengers do and cleaning it up.

That said, most LFS employees are not typically well versed in reef husbandry or best practices, or in the details of much of anything the sell from fish to turtles to crickets. Do your own research and educate yourself.

 

[reef guy 56]

I saw a polyp Missing an Astra starfish was. There was a polyp there a minute before.

 

[reef guy 56]

They were all dying, encrusting SPS and sea fans and Euphyllia and fimbrihilia. The seafans hammers frog spawn in Torches were alive.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

They were all dying, encrusting SPS and sea fans and Euphyllia and fimbrihilia. The seafans hammers frog spawn in Torches were alive.

I mean personally I wouldn’t buy corals from them if “they are all dying”

 

[Spare time]

Is the marine specialist guy at my lfs dumb?

The marine specialist at a local fish shop I go to has a frag tank that has an outbreak of Astra starfish the coral, eating variety there is dozen harlequin shrimp in the shop. It’s been two months and he hasn’t moved one in. for 2 months maybe 3. Should I listen to his advice?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Is the marine specialist guy at my lfs dumb?

The marine specialist at a local fish shop I go to has a frag tank that has an outbreak of Astra starfish the coral, eating variety there is dozen harlequin shrimp in the shop. It’s been two months and he hasn’t moved one in. for 2 months maybe 3. Should I listen to his advice?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Spare time]

There were responses on the duplicate thread so I added it here

 

[Reefing_addiction]

There were responses on the duplicate thread so I added it here

Sorry I was in a mood yesterday. I saw the duplicate thread and made sure to post my response there as well .

Honestly not even sure why I got my self so involved

 

[ca1ore]

As in asterina stars? They are harmless. Chances are if they are "eating" a coral, said tissue is dying and they are doing what scavengers do and cleaning it up.

Yes, that would be my guess also.

 

[elysics]

Asterina are harmless. Aquilonastra are not.

Shame that they almost look the same for many people. The latter definitely can attack zoas and sometimes other corals

The ones with the irregular burgundy red centers are the main offenders

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Asterina are harmless. Aquilonastra are not.

Shame that they almost look the same for many people. The latter definitely can attack zoas and sometimes other corals

The ones with the irregular burgundy red centers are the main offenders

Yup haven’t had those

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Asterina are harmless. Aquilonastra are not.

Shame that they almost look the same for many people.

To clarify here - you have that flipped; Asterina stars are thought to typically be predatory, while Aquilonastra stars most likely eat things like biofilm.

Personally, I like them, but they do tend to reproduce very quickly.

I've heard some species eat corals and others don't - I've seen convincing evidence for one species (a very darkly colored one), and one piece of somewhat convincing evidence for one different species, but the vast majority of these guys seem to be at least mostly safe.

With regards to whether or not the average "Asterina" (technically Aquilonastra - Asterina is a separate genus within the Asterinidae family) eat corals, it might be a species specific thing, it might be a you have way too many starfish so they're out of other food options thing, it might be they're eating the slime coat/mucus on the coral rather than the coral itself (see below), or they might just opportunistically eat unhealthy corals. Based on how starfish eat, it seems plausible to me that it may also be coincidental (i.e. the star goes to eat something off the coral and the coral just happens to be one that is able to be negatively effected by the star's everted stomach). Regardless, Zoas are just about the only coral I've heard about regular "Asterina" stars potentially going after with any sort of frequency.

A quote I like to refer to for this:

It's an Aquilonastra spp. starfish and is a great scavenger. I see them with anywhere from 4 to 12 legs. The whole discusion around them seems to me excellent examples of misidentification, mistaken behaviour and assumed causality based just on heresay without looking at the research. Asterina spp starfish are preditary but only reproduce sexually and are shortlived so while it's possible some might get into a tank even if it did happen it's not going to be around long. Aquilonastra are one of the uncommon species that reproduce fissiparous or by splitting so are easy to identify by the different sized legs regrown after splitting. They perform an important function not only feeding off algae films but also feeding off microbial films including those on corals (at least ones that don't sting). FYI the mucus coating on corals ages and corals have to periodicely shed it to renew it and maintian healthy microbial processes (Ref 1, Ref 2). If Aquilonastra are feeding on zoas or softies I'll argue they are either benign or even beneficial as they may be reducing the unhealthy older mucus which can be full of unhealthy microbes which the animal is trying to get rid of and are far more likely to be the actual problem.

Here's an example, this Toadstool is doing one of it's periodic sheddings. The Aquilonastra have been in this system for years but only climb onto the Toadstool when it's shedding. In the first picture you can see the old mucus film, Aquilonastra starfish and areas they have cleaned off. The second picture shows the Toadstool a week later.

The Asterinas we get in our tanks (actually Aquilonastra spp.) eat diatoms, green algae, biofilms, detritus, etc. - as mentioned, the diet varies from species to species.

Both Aquilonastra and Asterina are genuses of small starfish in the Asterinidae family, but Asterina stars are typically predatory and (at least primarily) reproduce sexually while Aquilonastra stars are typically not predatory and tend to reproduce more through asexual means (they’re fissiparous, so they reproduce through fission - basically they either split in half or drop a leg, and then the splits halves or the main body and the dropped leg then regenerate into fully-formed individual starfish). The fissiparous reproduction is why their populations tend to reach extreme levels in our aquariums; they can reproduce sexually as well (though I’ve never heard of them spawning in our tanks - it might happen unseen), but because they spawn rather than laying eggs or birthing live young, the spawn would likely be wiped out in a normal reef tank (pelagic larvae tend not to do very well in our tanks due to predation, removal by equipment and water changes, lack of available proper foods, etc.).

Yeah, there are currently 32 accepted species of Aquilonastra stars, so lots of different species out there.

WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Aquilonastra O'Loughlin in O'Loughlin & Waters, 2004

www.marinespecies.org

 

[elysics]

To clarify here - you have that flipped; Asterina stars are thought to typically be predatory, while Aquilonastra stars most likely eat things like biofilm.

The ones I had were primarily reproducing asexually and got those red spots probably from consuming corraline algae, but they were the ones eating polyps. Spitting image of aquilonastra conandae, though I am not sure if that is the correct ID or just a lookalike.

 

[BeanAnimal]

probably from consuming corraline algae.

huh?

 

[elysics]

huh?

They tend to have the colours of part of their diet.

 

[BeanAnimal]

They tend to have the colours of part of their diet.

Thus the "huh?"

Diet may contribute to a starfish's pigmentation but I don't think that literally means that they turn the color of their food. Can you please cite the source indicating that eating coralline algae turns the starfish the color of the algae, or for that matter the color of the food, whatever it is?

 

[exnisstech]

To the OP have you considered asking why they are doing/not doing what they are? Be interesting if they have a reason or if they just don't care.