little white star fish all over tank?

[rnyce]

Hey guys
thanks for your input about the eco techs, one more for you.
Over the last 2 week or so i have had a explosion of those annoying white star fish. They are tiny and all over the place. Some have gotten to half dollar size. Should i remove them or leave them in the tank?
thanks

 

[stingythingy45]

They're called Asterina stars.
I had a huge population as well.
But, they all died off when my tank went to 70 deg. during a power outage.
Luckly I lost no corals or fish.

**Like 90% are harmless.
But,I have seen some on zoa and paly polys that looked to be dying.

 

[higorc]

They're called Asterina stars.
I had a huge population as well.
But, they all died off when my tank went to 70 deg. during a power outage.
Luckly I lost no corals or fish.

Oh man, so that's the secret to getting rid of them? cold? If it wasn't dangerous to the other inhabitants I would do it tonight! I want mine gone!

 

[Ellabug]

Asternia stars are very common hitchhikers and most are not problematic (but some species reportedly can be, or in large numbers people have had problems). Best way to get rid of them is a harlequin shrimp, though you will need to figure out how to feed it after it decimates your asternias as they are obligate sea star feeders. Here is some worthwhile reading on asternia stars:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

 

[higorc]

I am on the fence about that... I would rather have them gone.

Not all Harlequim shrimp eat Asterina though. They are hit or miss. More or less like Peppermint shrimp and Aptasia...

 

[stingythingy45]

Oh man, so that's the secret to getting rid of them? cold? If it wasn't dangerous to the other inhabitants I would do it tonight! I want mine gone!

I had 100s of them in my display.
I'm thin it was the power outage and the tank getting down to 70 deg. as I had a small generator run a 100 watt heater in the display.
I would have used a larger heater,but I had to run the fridge and a couple lights as well.
This was during the Oct. storm.After that,all the asterina were floating on the surface. Same thing with the QT tank I have down stairs,but, that got colder with no heater.
Definitley wouldn't use this method to rid them from the tank.It could be devastating at that low a temp in a reef tank.
Think I just lucked out.

 

[mannysmusic]

I have a few in my tank, but I usually only notice them on the glass once the lights go out so i just leave them.

 

[jdeb101]

I notice one appear in my tank from time to time. I think it's cute.