Too Many Starfish

[galabon]

My 72 gal reef tank is infested with Asternia Star Fish!!
When it started it was only a few, and I was told that they sift the sand.
Now it is out of control and they are covering the glass, and they are very small.
I have been reading that a possible solution is a Harlequin Shrimp.
Has anyone had or still have a problem like this?
I would appreciate any help.
Thank You

 

[geoj]

Never had them become a problem. Post a pic so we can see the bad guy. You can use a needle to remove them one by one as you see them. I don’t think the Harlequin Shrimp can climb so it may not be very good at removing the Asternia Star.

 

[galabon]

Thanks for your reply,
Removing them with a needle is not practical. Yesterday morning I stopped counting at 400 on the
front glass alone. Some of them are just a little bigger then the tip of the needle and they are all over the
tank, and rocks. Because they live in the sand, they were eating the corals that are sitting on the bottom.
I solved this problem by moving the corals off the sand and I don't see them on the corals
that are off the bottom.
I agree with your comment that the shrimp won't climb and that is a problem.

 

[hunt]

just thinkin here, but maybe take a razoor blade, or anything else that could do the same thing, and scrape them off the wall, once they fall onto the sand scoop them out, or siphon them out or something

, and a harliquin shrimp will still help, regardless if it can climb glass

 

[meowzer]

HMMM...I find them very easy to pick off...if you have that many it seems you should be able to use a net, place it against the glass and scoop them out. I also pick them out with my fingers.....they do not hang on that tight
I use to be an advocate for the asterinas until I caught one eating a zoa....I now pick most out.....I also now believe SOME are good, but YOU CAN have too many

 

[ryancw01]

I had the same problem about 2 years ago and you control the population of those starfish with nutrients. The more nutrients, the more they will reproduce. Nonetheless, I did get a harlequin shrimp and ended up having him for about a year before I took him back to the LFS. He was eating them like little cookies within about 15 minutes of being in the tank. Really cool to watch. He demolished the population within about 2 weeks though so then you have to feed them chocolate chip stars every couple weeks so it gets expensive. I had a smaller tank then so I was worried about too much waste because of the appetite. I kind of want to get another one though. Probably the coolest creature I ever had in my tank.