Are these critters good

[t11t5]

I have these tiny starfish like creatures on my glass. They are white bodied with lots of tiny arms(some have more than others). I tried to take a pic but they are to small. I say with arms they are no bigger than 1/8". They almost look like a super tiny serpant star.

 

[HndMafia]

Tiny serpent stars, called micro stars, are fine. Small white, grey, or green stars called asterina need to go. Some say asterinas are ok but IME they can be trouble with zoas.

Google micro star and asterina to see if you can make an id

Sent from my Droid because I'm bored at work!

 

[divewsharks]

sound like asterina's. as mentioned some view them as pests, some don't. They are not a pest in my tank, but i also don't go out of my way to save/protect them either. They can grow to plague populations in the right conditions and for that reason some people introduce harlequin shrimp to get rid of the population.

 

[t11t5]

I googled micro star and asterina. Thats not the stars I have. They have lots of tiny arms. They sem to be reproducing quickly cause there is always more and more on my glass.

 

[agold11520]

Picture time!

 

[JMartin104]

Does it look like a tiny piece of lint (size of a this period: .) with several skinny legs, all white in color? If so, I have the same and recently had a bloom. They are all over my glass.

 

[vikubz]

Check out hydroid jellyfish.

 

[t11t5]

they are to small, my camera will not focus on them.

 

[ddmiller38]

micro star

micro star

Do they look like this.

<a href="http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll284/ddmiller38/?action=view&current=star.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll284/ddmiller38/star.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll284/ddmiller38/?action=view&current=Starfish120oh20yea.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll284/ddmiller38/Starfish120oh20yea.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[robs.mark]

I think Vikubz is correct with the jellys! I had them in my tank a couple of years back, I never saw ill effects, then after a while i stopped seeing them. Dont worry!

 

[Mad_Reefer]

+1 hydroid jelly

 

[bleedfire]

those are Staurocladia oahuensis or a hydroid jellyfish(crawling jellyfish) they do not get bigger then what you have, they are also unable to swim so the stick to the glass like a starfish and move around. They are said to have a sting but nothing is affected by them, there pretty harmless and will be there one day and gone the next, there population never really grows out of whack. the introduction of baby brine shrimp, cyclopeeze can encourage there growth and population for the simple fact they can feed on it. Really nothing to worry about i have dozens on my glass every time i turn my lights on. Lately i have been using oyster eggs so i am thinking that's what is increasing the population in my tank

 

[89Foxbody]

I had these on my tank a while back and always wondered what they were. I felt bad for obliterating them with the magfloat.

 

[JMartin104]

Check out hydroid jellyfish.

Exactly what I have. Thanks!

 

[Crawfish00]

if you have a major break out of them and they become a problem/nuisance get a harliquin shrimp... they are beautiful and all they eat is starfish so if you have ones you like dont get one.. if you start to run low on stars and need to feed i use choc. chip stars one leg a week..

 

[SushiGirl]

The ones I have swim when the powerheads are off...

 

[t11t5]

Check out hydroid jellyfish.

Thats them. Thanks so much. I would of never of thought of that...

 

[XrayGuy]

HYDROID JELLYFISH!! I am glad I stumbled across this thread because I have had tons of these on the glass in my corner overflow and they are hard to get a picture of and I assumed they were some sort of algae or something. The pics of them I googled are EXACTLY them. Thanks for the info!

 

[sslak]

OMG, I've killed about 10,000 of these with my mag-float! I thought they were like a sponge or algae...

I'm a murdererer!

Beware the Mag-Float god, for his wrath is swift and powerful.

 

[gon08]

hey can become a nuisance quick. I can't find anything that will eat them.