a few questions...

[puckbs]

1) choc chip stars - i bought one with the hopes of it helping to control the mushroom population in a 90 gallon tank. I have heard they will eat mushrooms, but is there anything else i should keep an eye on?

2) The tank is also overrun with majano anemones....what is my best approach? should i cut them low and then inject whatever stub that is left? or just inject the full anem?

3) oversized brittle stars - i mean this guy is huge....are they known to eat snails?

Thank you for any help you can give. This is a classroom tank that we use for lessons so I have big plans for it. I will get pics up soon and welcome all advice.

 

[Pleco420]

1) Never heard of choc chip stars eating mushrooms, I used to stock them in my tank as food for a harlequin.

2) Joe's juice, good luck those suckers are hard to get at. How about a Copper Band butterfly, dont know if they are only good for aptaisia

3) Get them out, just keep picking them out whenever you see them. Try at night they should be on the glass.

 

[Spracklcat]

Aren't choc. chip stars "not reef-safe"? As in, will eat any invert it can catch? Do you have anything in the tank coral-wise?

Also with the majanos I had a bunch when I was culturing Aiptasia--if you cut them, the cut parts will grow, and if you don't get all the tissue out you'll have babies growing (good if you're trying to cultivate them, not good if you're trying to kill them). Just inject them where they are with Kalk slurry. Plus the kids will think it's cool to watch them eject their mesenterial filaments in their death throes.

 

[puckbs]

well, for now the only coral in the tank are the majanos, a crapload of mushrooms, and a few kenya ....i need to thin the mushrooms

 

[billsreef]

The chocolate chip stars will indeed eat anything that can not move out of the way fast enough. Corals, snails, clams, anything.

Majano's are just as bad as aiptasia. Same control methods work to the same degree as well.

Large serpent stars also can eat anything they can catch, and they are fast enough to also take down small fish at night.

 

[puckbs]

thanks christine, bill

 

[Neurotech]

What color shrooms? I might want some if you could be bothered to fish em out.

 

[puckbs]

i will do my best....
the cc star seemed to work itself out as it has started to melt...thanks for all the input so far!