Weird small Starfish??

[PacificReefAquatics]

Hey does anyone have those wierd tiny starfish in their reefs??
They are very tiny and have like 5-6 arms, all different sizes.
I've heard that they are bad for the reef being that they eat Stony corals esspecially Acros. I've heard if you see your Acros bleaching from the bottom, turn it over an they'll be one. If anyone has any input let me know.

 

[Anonymous]

hard to say without a pic. can you post one? there are more than a few species of micro star, some good, some bad.

 

[PacificReefAquatics]

I'll try to post a pic. It's really small, white, with retarded arms.

 

[Anonymous]

lol. skinny ones or fat ones? skinny ones = probably a brittle star == it's ok to have in your tank.

 

[PacificReefAquatics]

lol i know what brittle stars are. These kinda look like sand sifters, but are all over the liverock. Really small. some arms are like the size of a real starfish. Picture a small white starfish, the size of a (chocolate chips), it has five arms, sometimes six and one is like the size of a big sandsifter. Looks like some sort freek crack baby starfish.

 

[Anonymous]

They're Asterina sp. stars. I've had tons of them in with Acros before and never noticed them do anything.

 

[Anonymous]

'Zis help you out?
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48546

~wings~

 

[romunov]

They reproduce by throwing off some of a ray, hence irregular shapes.

 

[rrdodge1283]

Yes they are Asterina stars pick them off! They damage corals and imbed into soft leathers and destroy the limbs causing die-off. Had them and still pick them off the rockwork from time to time. Lost some soft coral limbs wich turned black/brown on me.

 

[iphy]

Yes they are Asterina stars pick them off! They damage corals and imbed into soft leathers...

Is this true? Tons of places sell these guys as part of clean-up crews and I've had tons of them in my tank(s) for ages and have not noticed any harm to my soft corals.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Since I don't have any acros anymore in my tank, all they eat is coraline. And lots of it! I try to yank them out whenever I see one, because they have the potential to reach plague proportions in our tanks.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

iphy, you're probably thinking of these guys that are sold as part of clean up packages. Tiny micro brittle stars. tehy are great little scavengers as opposed to the destructive tendency of the asterinas.

 

[wade1]

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_p ... _rock3.htm

Item #1 on page 3 of the Hitchiker FAQ...

 

[iphy]

Sugar Magnolia: Nope, I know the difference between "baby brittle stars" and asterina and I was pretty sure I'd seen asterina listed as part of cleanup crews for sale. However, when I went looking on several of the major online retailers' sites, I didn't see anything. So, it is possible I was just on crack.

I did notice that Inland Aquatics sells "stars, micro" which are distinct from their "stars, miniature, brittle".

As I said, I've had these in my tank for years without noticing ill effects. This is why I am so curious. If these guys are truly, definitely, pests we should probably update the hitch hiker faq with some strong language. Sure, it already says they should be watched carefully; but maybe stronger language would be in order? This is not to say I am removing mine. Years of observation suggests what I have in my tank are not harmful to my reef.

 

[wade1]

They are not pests to the best of my knowledge. I have had masses of Asterina stars (they come and go in number) for years... they seem to correspond to algal levels in the tank as well. Film algaes seem to be the prefered feeding location. I have also never once seem them on a coral, only on the glass/rocks.

Don't know where the rumors started that they were bad... but its just not true IME.

 

[ChrisV]

Those little stars have never caused me any problems, never even seen one touch the coral. Dont think the ones I have are Asterina though...

No biggy if they take a bite of coralline once in a while, long as they dont build an army.
-CV

 

[rrdodge1283]

Those small starfish that seem to cause damage to corals is based on the articale from Seascope, Volume 18, Summer 2001. The ones in my tank appear to not be doing much damage however, they are stated as a nuisance, and I did loose some softies. I rid these pests as best possible from my past experiance.

 

[rrdodge1283]

See if this site helps out click and read articale Volume 18 Summer 2001
www.recif-france.com/seascope/seascopeeng.php

 

[RondaGP]

iphy, you're probably thinking of these guys that are sold as part of clean up packages. Tiny micro brittle stars. tehy are great little scavengers as opposed to the destructive tendency of the asterinas.

I always had assumed the ones in cleaner packages would be the regular brittles.

Anyway, I have heard of these referred to as "baby brittles", but most likely these are full grown adults. Sugar Magnolia called them "micro brittle stars", not baby brittle stars because they won't grow into the large ones we are used to seeing. I believe about 1 inch is average. At least it is for the hundreds that came on my live rock.