I got starfish babies!!!???

[Shrine26]

Anyone know about the care and feeding of starfish babies? I got a few new pieces of live rock about three weeks ago. I had never seen any kind of starfish in my tank before. Lo and behold, I have at least 4 little starfish now clinging to my front glass. They all are tan and have 5 little starfish arms. My fish don't pay any attention to them, and no crabs or snails bother them. I'd like to raise these little fellers up right, but I must admit I don't know nuttin' 'bout birthin' and raisin' no starfish babies. I haven't the slightest clue what kind of starfish they are or what they need to survive. Somebody come to my emotional rescue.....

 

[Fishboy42]

It sounds like an Asterina sp. starfish. They don't get very big, and I've found them to be harmless to corals (although I think I've heard of a few people thinking that they ate or bothered corals). They will reproduce in your tank too. I got some with Don's (Imsqueak) sand and they have continued to stay healthy and multiply. They don't seem to hurt clownfish eggs anyway. Here's a thread--do they look like these?:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=876009&highlight=baby+starfish

HTH
Matt

 

[Runner]

Do they look like little brittle starfish (long, skinny legs with tiny spines)? They are likely full grown and will reproduce on their own under normal tank conditions.

 

[Shrine26]

They have stubbier arms than a brittle star or serpent star. They all have well defined arms (5) and are symmetrical. Matt, I checked out the site on starfish but it seems like they are different than the pic shown. Right now, they are measure about 1/2 an inch across from 1 arm tip to another.

 

[ct_vol]

There was a thread about Asterina's in the MTRC...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=874847

Matt's right though, they're most likely Asterina's... They come in the 5 legged variety as well as 6... And they can slightly change colors according to their background... I have one right now that looks like its one leg... lol I think something ate most it... But they reproduce like mad... Harlequin shrimp will eat them if you find them to be a nuisance... But I wouldn't worry about carring for them reguardless... They'll either eat algae, diatom's, or detritus... They wouldn't have been on the rock if whatever that was on it, couldn't sustain them... I have them in my tank without any problems...

 

[hawkeye31657]

how bout some pics

 

[fishdoc11]

Hard to tell without a pic. Asterinas are very common as are little brittle stars that are typically white or white and brown and seldom have a spread larger than a quarter. I have literally hundreds of the latter and they are very beneficial IMO.
Chris