Why do some reefers hate these little guys?

[Fish Fan]

Am I the only one who doesn’t know what these are? Other than obviously some kind of starfish lol

Possibly :)

Asterina stars, a hitchhiker commonly found on live rock.

https://reefbuilders.com/2016/03/30...duction-to-this-common-reef-aquarium-critter/

 

[JonoH]

Am I the only one who doesn’t know what these are? Other than obviously some kind of starfish lol

Asterina Starfish

 

[Koty]

I have one type of these starfish and my tank is loaded with them. They do help clean the tank glasses. I think that they did eliminate my sponge population but not completely sure

 

[Lavey29]

From what I’ve read people always say they’re invasive and multiply a lot but personally I like looking at them

Mine have never gotten invasive or damaging to coral. I guess I just got cute friendly ones.

 

[polarbeard]

Possibly :)

Asterina stars, a hitchhiker commonly found on live rock.

https://reefbuilders.com/2016/03/30...duction-to-this-common-reef-aquarium-critter/

Thanks. My newbie is showing lol

 

[Fish Styx]

Thanks. My newbie is showing lol

At some point, the rest of us all asked the same question. We all start somewhere. ;)

 

[sawdonkey]

I’ve had these in my tank forever. The population ebbs and flows. Sometimes, it seems they are covering 40-50% of my rockwork. Hundreds of them on the glass in the mornings. Fight now, they don’t seem too bad in my tank. Yes I’ve seen them eat zoas (I don’t keep zoas though). I hate them misty because they are aesthetically ugly when the population explodes.

 

[EricR]

I think they are cute and an intricate part of the overall biome.

I like your 7-armed guy,,, looks pretty cool.

I witnessed a nice display at my LFS go from awesome looking to covered in them in between visits (((not sure how long,,, but a couple/few weeks))).

I only ever found 1 tiny one on a frag once and felt really bad but discarded:

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks. My newbie is showing lol

At some point, the rest of us all asked the same question. We all start somewhere. ;)

Absolutely! The only "silly" question is the one left unanswered :)

 

[VintageReefer]

Absolutely! The only "silly" question is the one left unanswered :)

Found this starfish on my liverock and then taking a break on a coral colony. He parked there a while, must have been tired! When he finally left there was a big indentation! Waiting for it to fluff back up.

Anyone know the name of this friendly guy?

 

[Fish Fan]

Found this starfish on my liverock and then taking a break on a coral colony. He parked there a while, must have been tired! When he finally left there was a big indentation! Waiting for it to fluff back up.

Anyone know the name of this friendly guy?

Wow! I mean, that has to be a different family than the Asterna stars I've seen. Plus what @exnisstech posted above. I have never seen stars like these, and if I did, I think I may want them more than corals lol!

Thank you for your reply buddy :)

 

[Lavey29]

Found this starfish on my liverock and then taking a break on a coral colony. He parked there a while, must have been tired! When he finally left there was a big indentation! Waiting for it to fluff back up.

Anyone know the name of this friendly guy?

Looks more like a type of nudibranch

 

[VintageReefer]

:face-with-hand-over-mouth:Ok I’m kidding! It’s a crown of thorn starfish and it’s primary diet is corals! Googled for the image

I was just making a silly question

 

[Fish Fan]

:face-with-hand-over-mouth:Ok I’m kidding! It’s a crown of thorn starfish and it’s primary diet is corals! Googled for the image

I was just making a silly question

Stop! Just stop! lol!!

 

[Fish Fan]

:face-with-hand-over-mouth:Ok I’m kidding! It’s a crown of thorn starfish and it’s primary diet is corals! Googled for the image

I was just making a silly question

I was seriously reconsidering everything I've ever known about an Asterina star.....

.......Grrrrrr VR LOL!

 

[VintageReefer]

Stop! Just stop! lol!!

Found cat can anyone ID breed ?

 

[VintageReefer]

I was seriously reconsidering everything I've ever known about an Asterina star.....

.......Grrrrrr VR LOL!

Documented story
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/exosphere’s-vanishing-losing-colony-need-help.1042362/

 

[Fish Fan]

Found cat can anyone ID breed ?

Holy cats, Bat Man!

Thanks for your help here :-)

 

[Fish Fan]

@VintageReefer, I differ to you and your experience, and I appreciate your help here as always :)

There must be different groups of these stars that superficially look-a-like. Some report that they are harmless algae-eaters, while some say they feast on their corals. I am thinking that it's a wide ranging group of animals that we are all considering as one, superficially.

Thank you for your help!

 

[VintageReefer]

26 genera. Most need a specialist to distinguish. Many eat zoanthids

https://reefs.com/zoanthid-wars-part-i-the-asterina-conspiracy/