Good or Bad (stolen pic included)

[thatguy]

So this is what I've gathered:
- Most of these things are fine
- The bad ones are really bad
- I can get rid of most of the good to prevent the bad
Or
- I can keep them all and hope the bad ones aren't in the tank


Did I miss anything?

 

[inwall75]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9955151#post9955151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thatguy
So this is what I've gathered:
- Most of these things are fine
- The bad ones are really bad
- I can get rid of most of the good to prevent the bad
Or
- I can keep them all and hope the bad ones aren't in the tank


Did I miss anything?

That's about the long and short of it. You can also leave them all in but be observant for changes in behavior and only remove that particular star.

 

[thatguy]

I feel like thread jacking myself.

Curt, what is that reef magazine that you like? I think it is the one Calfo puts out but it might be another.



Back to the thread: I'm going to get one of the 3 types I see in my tank and put them on various corals. Whatever kills what I put it on gets a trip to the amusement park (toilet).

 

[inwall75]

I like this one.

http://www.readingtrees.com/calfojournal.html


I like this one too.

http://www.coralmagazine.com/

 

[stlouisguy]

Wow I got mentioned

Yeah, my old 180 I have absolutely 100's all over the tank. Got a harlequin and the shrimp was very happy. I would turn on lights and there would be over 100 on the front glass.

Bothersome? Yup

Irritating and not that nice to look at? You betcha

Damage to any corals zoos or other things? Not that I ever noticed.

They can go out of control, but never saw any damage to my corals

 

[chadfarmer]

i dont even have 1 in my tank


i had a lot and than i didnt have any

 

[zt444a]

Perhaps my statement was mixed. I do know they can eat corals (at least a few of them do). I never actually witnessed them breaking out the proverbial "knife and fork" and munching away. I have witnessed then irritating corals, polyps sucked in, etc. So I pick them out and get rid of the damn things.

When I had to many to want to watch anymore, I got a shrimp too. Now not so many.

Clark you always had good growth on your SPS. So no baddies in your tank, but many they were out of control for awhile.

Matt, you have it about right. You can get rid of them, some good and some bad. Pluck them out when you see them, and toss them in your sump. Or get/borrow a harlequin shrimp from someone and let him feast on a few.

Asterinas are being needlessly killed?!? :uzi: :uzi: :hammer: :hammer:

Hey Steve... I killed some ants before I left for work today.....

 

[mpcart]

I have hundreds of them in my tank and I've never seen them on any of my SPS. I keep them because they eat corraline algae and keep my overflow and back glass clean. Of course, they also keep the algea off the rocks but I don't notice it now that the corals have gotten bigger.

-Mike

 

[JxMetal]

Hey guess what? I have one on the front glass right now.........I'm too lazy to kill it right now. He's only got a couple legs, must be a baby.

 

[McBeck]

FWIW - I have a zillion of these (yes, I counted ). I have personally seen a couple of them munching healthy zoanthids and pocillopora in my tank, but those guilty culprits were a very small percentage of the population.

The munchers are given an opportunity to evolve to a desert-like environment. The innocent majority stay in the tank. I think they're a great part of the crew and I like the added diversity.

When I have caught a naughty star, it has done very little damage and the corals recovered quickly. They move slowly and consume little, so you shouldn't have a problem unless you don't look at your tank for weeks at a time.