Possible starfish?

Lewis1

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 11, 2020
Messages
57
Reaction score
2
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello I woke up this morning and found why looks to be two legs of a starfish crawling around my tank not sure where it came from due to the fact that nothing new has been added in over a month. The picture is not good but it was the best my phone could do while trying to focus on it through the glass I’m wondering if it is bad to have in tank or if I need to remove him

C575F5CD-52AA-4535-8FB0-5FB05B619499.jpeg DBB5318C-472D-4A1A-B6B9-F8FA9CDD7E33.jpeg
 

tbrown

Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Messages
48,531
Reaction score
101,831
Location
Peoria, AZ
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Hello I woke up this morning and found why looks to be two legs of a starfish crawling around my tank not sure where it came from due to the fact that nothing new has been added in over a month. The picture is not good but it was the best my phone could do while trying to focus on it through the glass I’m wondering if it is bad to have in tank or if I need to remove him

C575F5CD-52AA-4535-8FB0-5FB05B619499.jpeg DBB5318C-472D-4A1A-B6B9-F8FA9CDD7E33.jpeg
+1 asterina star. They can spread like crazy if you have dirty water b they're a good hitchhiker until they get out of hand, but that's also a good indicator of your water quality. Each leg they lose can/will become a new star. You'll start finding lots of 1-6 leg stars running around.
 

Timfish

Crusty Old Salt
View Badges
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
3,738
Reaction score
4,928
Location
Austin, TX
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It's an Aquilonastra sp. starfish, frequently miss identified as Asterina. Beneficial, they feed off algae films and biofilms (this latter is more important than you'd think since biofilms age). Here's some of my other posts regarding them.
 

TnFishwater98

Drink more fishwater there! And I still want more!
View Badges
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Messages
6,544
Reaction score
8,452
Location
Nashville TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
C033865E-E98B-4920-834F-85096D2B5020.jpeg

Can you verify this species? Not the typical Asterina you see that is known to multiply quickly....
 

TnFishwater98

Drink more fishwater there! And I still want more!
View Badges
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Messages
6,544
Reaction score
8,452
Location
Nashville TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would recommend not worrying too much about removing them for now
I have a observing tank I throw all things in. It hasn’t heavily multiplied in months. So I’m not worried about it just wonder if you could verify the species.
 

tehmadreefer

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 3, 2018
Messages
3,605
Reaction score
4,631
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Pest and are known coral eaters as well, depending in the species. So it may or may not and is a gamble!
 

monkeyCmonkeyDo

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 4, 2019
Messages
8,288
Reaction score
8,087
Location
Puyallup, Wa USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Mine sat on top of zoas and ate them. Lol.
They turn green from the algae they consume in our tanks. Or mine did.
Half green and half white. Lol.
Usually the green was a splatter pattern on the top center where the mouth and disc is.
-d
 

TnFishwater98

Drink more fishwater there! And I still want more!
View Badges
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Messages
6,544
Reaction score
8,452
Location
Nashville TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Mine sat on top of zoas and ate them. Lol.
They turn green from the algae they consume in our tanks. Or mine did.
Half green and half white. Lol.
Usually the green was a splatter pattern on the top center where the mouth and disc is.
-d
I understand that some/most Asteria Stars can be pest. That’s why I always have a tank I use to observe things I question in the DT. I’ve had the common pest asteria before but was wonder about this specific species. I’ve been watching it for months and only has reproduced twice. Haven’t observed it eating zoas because I don’t have zoas in that tank. I got a lot of my live rock from the Gulf so wonder if I could figure out this species
 
Back
Top