Crown of Thorns
- Thread starter dkfloyd
- Start date
michaeltx
Moderator
yeah its a nasty star that even a leg can turn into another star. its also can get to the size of a dinner plate and have poisonous spikes across it. they are wiping out tons of SPS corals.
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
nasty things.
Mike
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
nasty things.
Mike
fooseball08
Member
arent they yellow...i thinki have seen that
paintballer768
Active Member
Imagine the stereotypical starfish in your head, like Patrick from Spongebob per se. Now that covered with the spines of a black longspine urchin
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2623365
yeah its a nasty star that even a leg can turn into another star. its also can get to the size of a dinner plate and have poisonous spikes across it. they are wiping out tons of SPS corals.
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
nasty things.
Mike
Ugh, seriously??? I have heard that they can be quite nasty in a tank. Do they HAVE to be killed though? They must serve some purpose in life.
http:///forum/post/2623365
yeah its a nasty star that even a leg can turn into another star. its also can get to the size of a dinner plate and have poisonous spikes across it. they are wiping out tons of SPS corals.
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
nasty things.
Mike
Ugh, seriously??? I have heard that they can be quite nasty in a tank. Do they HAVE to be killed though? They must serve some purpose in life.
reef_dart21
Member
I understand how you and mostly noone likes to see an animal killed for no reson or just killed. But these starfish CANNOT be picked up due to poison and the poison cause PERMANENT nerve damage and all they due is ruining homes for many fish cause them to kill more
so your choice
reef or starfish?
so your choice
reef or starfish?
michaeltx
Moderator
no you wont find these for sale in the aquarium trade
in small numbers they clear the way for corals to spread that normally wouldnt be able to hold but for some reason they have multiplied to plague proportions.
they come in a variety of colors though here are a few pictures of them.
in small numbers they clear the way for corals to spread that normally wouldnt be able to hold but for some reason they have multiplied to plague proportions.
they come in a variety of colors though here are a few pictures of them.
sepulatian
Moderator
Alright, you win. This time
They seriously must serve some purpose though. Where is Ophiura??? She will tell me how wrong I am!
They seriously must serve some purpose though. Where is Ophiura??? She will tell me how wrong I am!
michaeltx
Moderator
they do serve a purpose but here is the problem
there food source is hard corals. in past years they were in a normal population they cleared the way for soft corals to spread as they ate the hard corals.
the problem now is that there are so many of them the are a plague and are killling off more than the reef can handle in effect killing the reef. they are killing them by the thousands and not making a dent. They contribute it to the addtition of fertilizer run off from the farms feed the plankton that the baby stars eat as that are platonic and cause massive blooms in the stars.
Mike
there food source is hard corals. in past years they were in a normal population they cleared the way for soft corals to spread as they ate the hard corals.
the problem now is that there are so many of them the are a plague and are killling off more than the reef can handle in effect killing the reef. they are killing them by the thousands and not making a dent. They contribute it to the addtition of fertilizer run off from the farms feed the plankton that the baby stars eat as that are platonic and cause massive blooms in the stars.
Mike
scopus tang
Active Member
Could be wrong, but it seems to me I remember hearing about a similar issue back in the late seventies, early eighties with these guys on the Hawaiian fringing reef. Then after studying them for a few years they discovered that they have a kind of boom-bust life cycle; were they live in normal balance, then explode to plague populations, then decline and return to normal balance. Any chance its something similar in Australia?
A
alexmir
Guest
I wouldnt worry about it too much, the coral reef has been there for a very long time, as have the stars, and they are still there.........Nature has a way of taking care of itself and keeping it under control.
michaeltx
Moderator
thats the problem now is that there normal dieoff cycle isnt happening they are just building more and more on the population. since there is more not but one or 2 things that prey on them and conditions are right for them to live they are moving across the reef eating acres of corals. they from my understanding do have a natural surge in population but this SURGE hasnt stopped and in fact has gotten worse over the last couple of years.
australia employees divers just to kill these stars on a daily basis and they are making a dent in the population in fact some studies say there are so many of the platonic stages living that there are actually more than what there was.
I will see if I can find out alittle more information ans back up sources.
Mike
australia employees divers just to kill these stars on a daily basis and they are making a dent in the population in fact some studies say there are so many of the platonic stages living that there are actually more than what there was.
I will see if I can find out alittle more information ans back up sources.
Mike
cowfishrule
Active Member
Originally Posted by alexmir
http:///forum/post/2623853
I wouldnt worry about it too much, the coral reef has been there for a very long time, as have the stars, and they are still there.........Nature has a way of taking care of itself and keeping it under control.
the stars will eat the reef up, then die off due to hunger. the reef will return one day.
its nature's problem, not ours.
http:///forum/post/2623853
I wouldnt worry about it too much, the coral reef has been there for a very long time, as have the stars, and they are still there.........Nature has a way of taking care of itself and keeping it under control.
the stars will eat the reef up, then die off due to hunger. the reef will return one day.
its nature's problem, not ours.
cowfishrule
Active Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2623365
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
easy fix.
dont kill them. collect them in a porous, but un-penetrable 5 gallon bucket, if you will. said bucket is attached to a line running up to a boat with a holding tank. fill / empty, etc until said holding tank is full. return to shore and place these into a 40 yrd dumpster waiting at the docks. bring dumpster inland, perhaps to either incinerator or landfill. dump said dumpster at chosen site.
repeat until population is at managable level.
http:///forum/post/2623365
they are useing an acid derived from them to kill them but to kill them they have to inject each arm of the star and if one was missed it wil regenerate a whole new star.
easy fix.
dont kill them. collect them in a porous, but un-penetrable 5 gallon bucket, if you will. said bucket is attached to a line running up to a boat with a holding tank. fill / empty, etc until said holding tank is full. return to shore and place these into a 40 yrd dumpster waiting at the docks. bring dumpster inland, perhaps to either incinerator or landfill. dump said dumpster at chosen site.
repeat until population is at managable level.
spanko
Active Member
Originally Posted by COWFISHRULE
http:///forum/post/2624241
the stars will eat the reef up, then die off due to hunger. the reef will return one day.
its nature's problem, not ours.
Agree here, we as humans think we can do more than we really can sometimes and end up messing things up more.
To be Lion King about it:
"Hakuna Matata"
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
http:///forum/post/2624241
the stars will eat the reef up, then die off due to hunger. the reef will return one day.
its nature's problem, not ours.
Agree here, we as humans think we can do more than we really can sometimes and end up messing things up more.
To be Lion King about it:
"Hakuna Matata"
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
michaeltx
Moderator
this would normally be the case but with this its not.
the problem is humans we have created a enviroment that is perfect for the crown of throns star to thrive and mutiply.
The fertilizer run off has created a sea of rich in platonic foods for the larval stars so there population has exploded causeing the problem on the reef.
its not a issue of they are there and naturally occuring its the numbers that they have showed up with that are the problem.
Mike
the problem is humans we have created a enviroment that is perfect for the crown of throns star to thrive and mutiply.
The fertilizer run off has created a sea of rich in platonic foods for the larval stars so there population has exploded causeing the problem on the reef.
its not a issue of they are there and naturally occuring its the numbers that they have showed up with that are the problem.
Mike