Brittle starfish and zoa's

[aflounder]

I am having a very hard time keeping zoa's.
I have thousands of brittle starfish that range from dime to silver dollar size.

Could they be causing the problem?

 

[alb_56]

Dont think so, but if you have that many there is probably a problem with your nutrient removal process. Usually sessile life only goes crazy like that when there is a ton of extra stuff in the water. Or if you are cycling your tank still, how long has the setup been running?

 

[aflounder]

about three years. I noticed my phosphate level is starting to increase- need to replace RODI media. I probably have been over feeding as well. Soft corals grow in my tank like a weed, but no LPS or SPS.

 

[alb_56]

What lights do you use?

 

[A. Grandis]

I am having a very hard time keeping zoa's.
I have thousands of brittle starfish that range from dime to silver dollar size.

Could they be causing the problem?

Those stars CAN irritate the zoas, yes. You need to take a look at night to find out if that's the case. Many other organisms CAN irritate the zoas.
But there are SO MANY things that can give you a hard time with zoas"¦

Grandis.

 

[aflounder]

we are running MH and T5's. I have tried lower, higher placements, high flow- medium and low. nothing seems to help. Before we moved to Missouri every coral I put in the tank exploded. Here I cant get anything to grow except the soft corals!

Is there anything that will get rid of the brittle star fish?

 

[aflounder]

I should also add that we have started to see a dramatic increase in the sea bunny population- the snail things that have no shell that only come out in the dark. I just saw them close to some zoa's, but I have never seen them actually on top of them.

 

[A. Grandis]

Oh, is that "sea bunny" actually nudibranchs?
Some species prey on zoas!!!

Like these:
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=415

I've never had problems with those.
I've heard that fresh water dip is one of the best ways to get rid of them.

Grandis.

 

[Reefer54]

I think he means stomatella...they should do no harm to any corals.

the brittle stars can irritate but should not feed or destroy any corals...asterinas however, may.