acro eating star fish?

[MSHUR]

anyone had a problems with those little ones.? do u think they can eat acro's from the base?
i have a few acros wich is reciding from the base very,very slow. my water is perfect,no red bus, i checked for aafw. and i found last nite those little startfish was sitting on my acro. i remmember a few years ago garf reported about those little starfishes might eat acros

mike

 

[AcanLord]

Yes. Some are suspected of eating corals. Pick them off if you have a few stars. Get a Harlequin if you have a large population.

 

[jackson6745]

Same problem here. The starfish are sitting on any one of my acros that show STN. I'm not sure if they're eating it or maybe just eating some dead tissue or algae etc.

 

[dilligaf_biker69]

Asterina sea stars control?


check this thread out

 

[Travis]

I have tons of these in my tank. I have a couple acros that have been STN'ing and I regularly find these starfish on the receded areas. I was concerned after reading the GARF article several years ago but over time I firmly believe that these starfish are just the "clean-up crew". They are often spotted on receded areas of corals because they are feeding on detritus and other matter that has settled on that area or is growing there. I think they have gotten a bad name because of that article and people's fear of them because they see them on receded areas of corals.

 

[jackson6745]

Travis that's what I'm not sure of. Why do you firmly believe that these starfish are just the "clean-up crew"?

 

[Travis]

It is just my theory from what I have observed. I will see them on receded areas all the time usually see only 1 or 2 there while there are hundreds (actually probably over a thousand) on the rocks and walls. If they fed on the tissue I would think more of them would be on the corals. The ones that I do see on the corals are usually in a the middle of a receded area and not on the edge next to the tissue, which is where they would be if they were feeding on the tissue.

 

[The DOC]

I have thousands...GARF reported 7 arm stars as bad....

Mine are only 6 armed ones....usally less because of reproduction by devision..(hence a 6 arm star can have anywhere from 1 arm to 6)....mine are tottally harmless...like said they are most interested in the glass algea...not the acros...

Now 7 arm'ed ones may be harmful, I don't know

Doc