Tiny Starfish In My Tankgood Or Bad????
- Thread starter jsofield
- Start date
lion_crazz
Active Member
Do you have a reef tank?
Look up asterina stars and see if they look like them.
Look up asterina stars and see if they look like them.
ophiura
Active Member
Do they have very narrow threadlike arms and a round central area, or do the arms merge to the disk, like a seastar?
There are both seastars and brittlestars that are hitch hikers and it is quite unusual to get a problematic one (which would only be the seastar). The sea star is Asterina.
If these are brittlestars they are quite desirable and do not grow larger.
There are both seastars and brittlestars that are hitch hikers and it is quite unusual to get a problematic one (which would only be the seastar). The sea star is Asterina.
If these are brittlestars they are quite desirable and do not grow larger.
lion_crazz
Active Member
asterina stars
ophiura
Active Member
The overwhelming majority of Asterina stars are harmless. A few can cause problems with coralline algae, and a very very rare few eat corals - SPS or soft. The distinction is nearly impossible to make, even for seastar experts. The majority of people who have these stars, and there are a lot, have no issues at all. Most are feeding on surface films.
ophiura
Active Member
Originally Posted by jsofield
from the archives they look like the white bristtle stars. Not the sea stars. Thank you very much. they arein my refugium and main tank. I like them they are "cute".
The tiny white one's with five arms are most likely Amphipholis. They reproduce well, won't get larger, and are considered highly desirable
from the archives they look like the white bristtle stars. Not the sea stars. Thank you very much. they arein my refugium and main tank. I like them they are "cute".
The tiny white one's with five arms are most likely Amphipholis. They reproduce well, won't get larger, and are considered highly desirable
