Starfish - Friend or Foe

[AllanPritchard]

I have found this crawling on the glass tonight. it is a tank I am using to keep live rock live and grow some snails. Is it a friend or foe.

 

[AdamD76]

Its a astrea starfish. some people say they eat corals and other say they have never had problems with them.
I have them and have never seen them eat a coral.

 

[AllanPritchard]

Does it have a particular name ? Wish they ate Aptasia
Edit: Sorry missed that ID'd it as a astrea

 

[naterealbig]

Mine eat coraline algae and zoanthids. They leave my SPS and LPS alone. I used to be in the group of people that said "they are just fine". I am currently in the process of bleaching and recycling (starfish free) about 300lb of live rock, so I can get rid of them.

Your "milage may vary", but weigh the long term risks.

 

[AdamD76]

Does it have a particular name ? Wish they ate Aptasia

asterina starfish

Asterina starfish, an introduction to this common reef aquarium critter | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Have you ever wondered what that itsy bitsy starfish is doing in your tank? The sneaky starfish probably hitchhiked its way in on some live rock or new coral, but now there are dozens of small grayish…

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