Free sweet acro frag....conditional

[spstimie]

I have a small acro colony that asterina stars seem to think tastes good. It looks like ORA's new Blue Iris Acro except brighter and(this is the best part) when under geissman t5 blue plus the polyps glow orange(no bs I thought it was going to glow in the dark when I got it). I changed my t5s so I no longer get this effect, but it is cool. I want to cut the colony off the rock tomorrow and frag it into 3 or 4 small pieces. I want to keep one and give the others away(and now the condition) so someone can give it back to me if I can't keep it alive. Closer to Aurora is better in case I have to come get a piece.

 

[rehnberg]

This is a little off topic but I have those asterina stars in my tank, is there anything that would eat those? I pull them out when I see them but they keep splitting and living in the live rock.

 

[moevilla]

PM Sent

 

[moevilla]

I believe harlequin shrimp will eat asterina stars.

 

[68RUSTANG]

Shawn I'd like a frag.

Let me know when to pick it up.

 

[jonthefb]

Sean, id be up for holding a frag for you!
LMK!
Cheers~!
Jon

 

[jonthefb]

Jeremy, I have asterinas in my frag tank, and ordered two harlequins on my last livestock order, specifically to keep them under control. Only issue is that with the harlequins, you cant keep any starfish!
Cheers~!
Jon

 

[spstimie]

I think a deep water acro I had underneath it might have been part of the problem. Maybe the asterinas were just cleaning up, but I think they were eating at it. As for removing the asterinas I use 3/8"id hose and tie a filter bag to the end. throw it in the sump and siphon away. dump and repeat. I think I want a harlequin in my nano when I set it up.

Frags should be good to go by Saturday.

 

[stugray]

The only problem with the harlequin is: once it eats all the asterinas, you will have to buy him live starfish & feed a leg weekly.

Not a very sustainable way to go.

I did it and my asterinas were all gone a about a month & it took 2 years before they came back after the Harley died.

I honestly feel that if you see asterinas eating a coral, then the coral is in poor health.

Stu

 

[spstimie]

I have seen them feeding on perfectly healthy corals. Usually as the population gets very large, exhausting other food supplies.

 

[jonthefb]

I too have seen them feeding on perfectly healthy corals. I have seen them feed on leather corals, zoas, mushrooms, acros, montis, and pocilioporids.

There are many species of asterina stars, most of them are primarily herbivores, but as spstimie said if the population grows large enough quick enough, they can run out of food and turn to other sources(corals), which also happen to harbor algae(zoxanthellae).

 

[spstimie]

I've seen acans as well. They definitely have expensive taste when they start eating coral.