Help id star fish...

[herpencounter]

I have 2 really small star fish 1/4 inch both have 3 legs :lol:, when I first saw it I had 1 that I had known of then, about 2 weeks of me having the small guy he had lost 2 legs idk how, and about 2 weeks after that I saw another, he to has 3 legs. So any info u have on them tell me...


sorry about the pictures I have really pore lighting that I was using...


I cant get pictures to upload as they are to big and I cant edit them right because I have to use paint... err makes me mad

ok it works I have to go to photobucket then save to my pictures photobucket automatically resizes the picture...

 

[Anonymous]

Asterina sp., a harmless herbivore.

mario

 

[herpencounter]

could it be...

Asterina anomal-One of the starfish of recent concern appearing on the scene a bit more often is the Asterina Anomala. The starfish is small only about 1/2 inch across and very hardy in the aquaria. They reproduce often to plague proportions by fission (splitting into parts) . These species are commonly imported on live rock, and initially believed to consume algae but more
recently have been observed eating coral tissue. The animal seems to have no particular discrimination towards any one species and has been observed eating corals like Euphyllia , Lobophyllia, Stylophora, Seriatopora, Acropora and even Blastomussa. Removal of these starfish from your captive reef should be top priority. They are nocturnal feeders and are most likely hiding away in the afternoon hours. You can remove them manually with the use of a small tool such as tweezers. You could also introduce a natural predator like the Harlequin shrimp. Keep in mind this shrimp will enjoy you useful Brittle stars as well as these coral eating starfish. Quarantine of new additions will help you in this circumstance as well. You can keep the appropriate predators in your quarantine tank and be ready to eradicate this harmful species before you introduce it to your captive reef system.

 

[herpencounter]

oh lol u got there first...


I got this off the net and i have sean theam eating brown algae not coral (dont have any so i cant back this up).

 

[Anonymous]

What Mario said. I've got these too. They tend to come out more when the lights are out but will occasionally cruise during daylight hours too. 8)

 

[herpencounter]

So they dont do any thing?

 

[LeslieH1]

There are a lot of these little species in the family Asterinidae spread among 26 genera and they are nearly impossible for a non-specialist to tell apart. Some reproduce by splitting, others don't. Some will feed on corals but the majority don't. The only way to know if the individuals in your tanks are safe is to watch them & monitor your corals for damage.

 

[herpencounter]

when I first got them I had a small amount of brown algae and here would be small lines or spots and I was looking in the tank and there it was eating the algae (guessing it was on the algae).

 

[herpencounter]

:lol: Well I now have 3 three legged star fish all going to the darkest part of my tank right behind my internal filter... (they never hid before because I never had the light on)

My camera likes to enhance all the white so the sand and the rock on the left are really white.

 

[Anonymous]

So they dont do any thing?

They are harmless algae grazers, IME. I've added a few from a friends tank, and now I've got a bunch.

 

[Anonymous]

Add some more LR to it if you can... they'll hide in the rocks during the "day".

 

[herpencounter]

Yea I am this is just for now I was waiting form my new light ( it's here ) Now I have brown diatom's..... :x

here is the link for my diatom problem http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=102898

 

[Anonymous]

Pretty standard stuff for a new tank... add a clean up crew! 8)

 

[stubbsz]

So they dont do any thing?

They are harmless algae grazers, IME. I've added a few from a friends tank, and now I've got a bunch.

Not necessarily

Some of them eat zoas. I've had one do that but I got rid of it and despite having many stars that look the same, the zoas have not been attacked since... he was leaving little stumps behind as he very slowly moved from zoa to zoa. most of them grew back in a few weeks though.
-Adrian

 

[Anonymous]

So they dont do any thing?

They are harmless algae grazers, IME. I've added a few from a friends tank, and now I've got a bunch.

Not necessarily

Some of them eat zoas. I've had one do that but I got rid of it and despite having many stars that look the same, the zoas have not been attacked since... he was leaving little stumps behind as he very slowly moved from zoa to zoa. most of them grew back in a few weeks though.
-Adrian

Wow. First I've ever heard of this.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a few in my tank and I was wondering why my zoas were disappearing.

 

[cyro]

http://www.garf.org/news26p2.html#STAR

 

[Anonymous]

Great link, Cyro. I had no idea! 8O Granted, I don't have anything in my tank that they eat so maybe that's why.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree they are for the most part harmless, but I did have trouble with them eating some mushroom frags I was trying to make. Caught the lil bastids in the act too!

 

[Anonymous]

I agree they are for the most part harmless, but I did have trouble with them eating some mushroom frags I was trying to make. Caught the lil bastids in the act too!

Hmm. I've got all kinds of mushrooms and these guys - I haven't seen any predataion. :?