Baby starfish?

[onasty]

I recently bought a feather duster and a small friend was attached to him. It is a baby starfish. I don't know what type of species it is, but the picture I have may be helpful. The image is a little fuzzy. What I am really concerned about is how to feed it. I placed it inside a hole in one of my rocks so it doesn't get eaten. Will he survive? Can he eat what is floating in the water til he gets bigger? Let me know. Thanks.

 

[viper_930]

Could just be a mini-brittle star. They stay that small and reproduce like crazy. Good part of a cleanup crew.

 

[onasty]

So he won't get really big? It would be nice if he did. Thanks for the advice. One more thing, will my scooter or damsel eat him if they see him?

 

[duke13]

If yours grows up big, that would cool. Most baby stars get eaten before they get a chance to grow big.

 

[lovethesea]

do a search on Asterina. That is most likely what you have.
We have several and hardly ever see them. It will be fine as it will wander your tank

 

[lovethesea]

try this...
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/132094/the-most-amazing-thing-ever-just-appeared-in-my-tank

 

[jourdy]

my rocks have a lot of hitchhiker baby brittle stars.. ive seen about 4 of them already.
still alive.. theyre actually the only starfish that lived in my aquarium (i tried a choco chip.. died after 3 days

)

 

[onasty]

I don't think this is a brittle star. It looks like a tiny dot with very long arms. I also don't have any live rock in the tank.

 

[ophiura]

If it is a tiny dot with long arms, then it is a brittlestar which are common hitch hikers on just about anything solid (LS, LR, corals, etc). You can search for Amphipholis.
If it looks more like a flat seastar, with many often unequal arms, then it is Asterina, also a common hitch hiker on solid objects.
Both will be close to adult size and are not likely to get much larger though both can reproduce easily.

 

[drakken]

Originally posted by ophiura
If it is a tiny dot with long arms, then it is a brittlestar which are common hitch hikers on just about anything solid (LS, LR, corals, etc). You can search for Amphipholis.
Both will be close to adult size and are not likely to get much larger though both can reproduce easily.
Aahh, thanks for the info!! I have HUNDREDS of these small brittle stars in my tank and I thought they would grow to the size of the big ones.