What the heck is this?

[Cool Fish]

Can anyone tell me if this picture is a baby brittle star? I've never seen one, but I have many brittle stars in my refugium. I saw this climbing up the glass. I don't have any other star fish in my system. I haven't added any new inhabitants (or rock) to my tanks in months. If this is a brittle star, why would it have a larger covering over it? Protection?

 

[James M]

asterina starfish

 

[Oscaror]

Can anyone tell me if this picture is a baby brittle star? I've never seen one, but I have many brittle stars in my refugium. I saw this climbing up the glass. I don't have any other star fish in my system. I haven't added any new inhabitants (or rock) to my tanks in months. If this is a brittle star, why would it have a larger covering over it? Protection?

Asterina starfish. Most of them are harmless but there are species rumored to eat coralline or even coral. Pretty much an unavoidable hitchhiker

 

[Cool Fish]

But, don't most Asterinas have less arms. Like maybe 5? This one has 7. I don't know why I never saw it before. And, as I say, I haven't added anything to the system.​

 

[James M]

But, don't most Asterinas have less arms. Like maybe 5? This one has 7. I don't know why I never saw it before. And, as I say, I haven't added anything to the system.​

Some but not all

 

[Cool Fish]

Ah, I see. Well, it's the only one I've seen.....so far.

 

[KrisReef]

But, don't most Asterinas have less arms. Like maybe 5? This one has 7. I don't know why I never saw it before. And, as I say, I haven't added anything to the system.​

When something in the tank chews their arms off, they can regenerate the lost limb. Sometimes they end up with extra arms, and I suppose this comes with the regeneration territory. How exactly do you keep track of what something chews off and then regenerate the missing piece without a pattern? The pain of losing an arm would likely confuse anybody, and it is amazing that they grow back anything at all.

 

[DSC reef]

Keep an eye on it. They can reproduce very fast and its literally impossible to tell the good from the bad. We had the bad ones that loved zoas and the asterina had all different colors and patterns.