starfish friend or foe

[florida joe]

Can someone please zoom in on this hitchhiker star fish I found and tell me if is a menace to simple corals zoos and mushrooms

 

[mscarpena]

Freind. Algae eater

 

[sudc]

Asterina star. They are fine. Some will say they can be a problem but i've never had one with them. I'd put it back and not worry

 

[florida joe]

thanks friends im taking your word on it

 

[rattler739]

they are good and usually dont get to big, but they will eat coraline algea so if you see little spots then thats probably where it came from. As long as your coraline is growing good then it will never be a problem.

 

[perfectdark]

You prob have 20 or so of these depending on how much LR you have that you dont even know are there. Very common hitchikers

 

[florida joe]

this guy seems to be staying on the front glass of my DT so he gets to say for now, just starting to get my coraline algea going so he may get evicted

 

[viper_930]

There's many different species of asterinas. I think the majority of them in the hobby are algea eaters, but there are some that eat corals.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by ViPeR_930
There's many different species of asterinas. I think the majority of them in the hobby are algea eaters, but there are some that eat corals.
thats what i was afraid of how can i tell for sure is he a safe with corals or not?

 

[mushroomss]

There is no way to tell.Throw him in your sump.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by mushroomss
There is no way to tell.Throw him in your sump.
I think im going to relocate him to the sump better safe then sorry

 

[reefernana]

I have seen 2 of these in my tank since I set it up on May 1st. Most of the time I never see them, the couple of times I have they just hang out on a rock. During those times I've never seen them go near my corals or my coraline. They're usually near a hole so they can retreat quickly, too. I've been told they don't get much bigger than a nickel to maybe a quarter at most.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by mushroomss
There is no way to tell.Throw him in your sump.
I think im going to relocate him to the sump better safe then sorry

 

[florida joe]

made a quick call to my lfs and he was in agreement with mushroomss so off to the sump he went

 

[mushroomss]