tiny starfish

[chadman]

over the past 6 months or so i have notices an increasing number of real small star fish...lately i have not only notices a lot more or them but i have also noticed that they are getting larger...
i never purchases any starfish they must have been hitchhikers on something but i have no clue what becasue i haven't really added anything to my tank for at least six months or longer....
are these star fish going to become a nuisance?

 

[smartorl]

A friend of mine's tanks are covered in these little guys. I don't know much about them except that they don't grow and appear to be harmless. She has purchased a harlequin crab that only eat starfish and so far the arrangement is working out well!

 

[chadman]

o thats a good idea...the tiny starfish don't bother me really...it just adds to the real ocean feeling yah know? the only problem i would have is that if they are actually hurting something in my tank...but as you said they do seem pretty harmless but sometimes things look fine when really terror is going on...haha

 

[smartorl]

I'm sorry to I was thinking crab but it is actually a shrimp, it just looks like a crab, they are very pretty. Here is a link:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...ot_parent_id=4

 

[chadman]

those shrimp are sooooo tiny....i would be afraid to even put on in my tank...haha

 

[chadman]

i remember seeing them labeled on a tank at my lfs and it took me ten minutes until i found the little guy in the tank....

 

[smartorl]

They really are cute, hers are always out in plain site, they aren't hiders for as much as I can see. The little starfish were multiplying unchecked and had started to invade the tank in a big way! Good luck!

 

[mommafishinmd]

Originally Posted by chadman
o thats a good idea...the tiny starfish don't bother me really...it just adds to the real ocean feeling yah know? the only problem i would have is that if they are actually hurting something in my tank...but as you said they do seem pretty harmless but sometimes things look fine when really terror is going on...haha
They will not hurt anything, if anything your tank will be nice in clean since they eat dang near EVERYTHING off the bottom. At least I know my brittle does. He is very calm and never bothers anything but the turbo snails who get in his way when he is trying to climb. What color are the stars?

 

[farslayer]

They sound like asterinas maybe? Do they look like they are missing legs, but that they should have six?

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by chadman
over the past 6 months or so i have notices an increasing number of real small star fish...lately i have not only notices a lot more or them but i have also noticed that they are getting larger...
i never purchases any starfish they must have been hitchhikers on something but i have no clue what becasue i haven't really added anything to my tank for at least six months or longer....
are these star fish going to become a nuisance?
Most definately sound like asterina stars, Harmless,, You do not need a harlequin shrimp for these stars.

 

[farslayer]

Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
Most definately sound like asterina stars, Harmless,, You do not need a harlequin shrimp for these stars.
But perhaps you need these stars for a harlequin shrimp? I had never thought of using them as the food source for one of these shrimp. I love the shrimp, but didn't want to buy a star fish just to feed him.

 

[cdfodor]

I have the same thing going on, I thought that they were baby sand sifting stars because I had two larger ones that would interlock and I'm assuming mate. They are a whitish color and some of them do have different size and number of legs. They do not seem to bother anything that I can tell.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
But perhaps you need these stars for a harlequin shrimp? I had never thought of using them as the food source for one of these shrimp. I love the shrimp, but didn't want to buy a star fish just to feed him.
I think I read up a little that he was contemplating on getting a H. Shrimp just to deal with this "problem" and I was like "If they finish off these poor arsteia stars" they will slowly starve, and I dont think hes gonna kee buying stars to feed them.. lol

 

[farslayer]

Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
I think I read up a little that he was contemplating on getting a H. Shrimp just to deal with this "problem" and I was like "If they finish off these poor arsteia stars" they will slowly starve, and I dont think hes gonna kee buying stars to feed them.. lol
Any idea on what the consumption rate would be? If the stars reproduced faster than the shrimp could eat them, it may be feasible. This is a really cool idea, natural food source for the shrimp.

 

[chadman]

yeah i think you guys hit it on the nose...they do look like the are missing legs when they are small...but once they grow larger they have all six legs...i am going to skip the shrimp thing and just let the star fish do there thing...thanks for the help!

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
Any idea on what the consumption rate would be? If the stars reproduced faster than the shrimp could eat them, it may be feasible. This is a really cool idea, natural food source for the shrimp.
The little research I have done says they will keep a little herd of starfish and as long as there is enough of them they will pluck the sucker feet off one, then move on to another, and as they rotate through the feet are regenerated (if the star is able to do that) allowing it to be a seemingly endless supply of food.

 

[ophiura]

They are not baby sand sifters.
They are common Asterina stars, and rarely are they a problem...now and then a problematic species is found.
But if you are getting a "bloom" you need to address your feeding rate, as most are feeding on stuff tied to the nutrient load of your tank.