Mass murder!!

[greg1786]

Over the last few days ive lost about 50 of my favorite zoas!!!! Everything in the tank otherwise was perfectly fine including a colony mint chocolate chip zoas of about 200 growing right next to my john deers that are disappearing. Well last night right before lights out I saw something white stuck in the center of whats left of the disappearing colony and pulled out this little sob!!!

:headwallblue:

 

[HumbleFish]

Ouch! What kind of star is that??

 

[650-IS350]

Asterina Stars, there are various species of these, some reef friendly some not. I don't take chances, the second I find them, I toss them out.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

 

[kichimark]

Yeah those stars are hit and miss. Luckily my tank has the non-bothering coral type but I still take them out and dry them for my students. They get a kick out of them. Be on the lookout for more of those stars. They reproduce asexually and can spread fast if you let them.

 

[greg1786]

Yeah those stars are hit and miss. Luckily my tank has the non-bothering coral type but I still take them out and dry them for my students. They get a kick out of them. Be on the lookout for more of those stars. They reproduce asexually and can spread fast if you let them.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering if one meant more to come. This is the first time in two years ive seen one in my tank. Im thinking it came in on a piece of LR I got recently.

 

[Desisto941]

I just fixed this issue! I was having the same mass murder going on in my office tank and home tank. They kept eating my zoas! So I went out spent $24 on a Harlequin Shirmp. Problem fixed! I don't pull any out of my tank any more. I just let the Shrimp do its thing. eats those things like candy!

 

[greg1786]

My lfs actually has a male and female pair of them and ive always wanted one. Maybe now i have a good reason to buy it !

 

[HumbleFish]

Im thinking it came in on a piece of LR I got recently.

Always dip

 

[kichimark]

My lfs actually has a male and female pair of them and ive always wanted one. Maybe now i have a good reason to buy it !

Be mindful if you have any hawkfish and you introduce shrimps, you may have another murderer on your hands.

 

[greg1786]

I dont have any hawkfish. I actually used to keep peppermint shrimp until they too went on a rogue killing spree lol. Thanks for the info though. @ humblefish- i didnt know you could dip LR. What would I use? The same stuff I use to dip corals? I use coral rx btw

 

[HumbleFish]

@ humblefish- i didnt know you could dip LR. What would I use? The same stuff I use to dip corals? I use coral rx btw

Exactly. Or save yourself some $$$ and start using this. Also look here.

Some people say only use it for SPS; I use it for everything! SPS, LPS, softies, LR...

 

[greg1786]

I just picked up the bayer at walmart. I read through the whole thread and I actually have an acro and a pokerstar monti that dont have great PE so i may put them through a dip regimen. However, more pertinent to this thread, do you think I should take the zoas out that were mowed down by that little hell raiser and dip them as a precaution??

 

[HumbleFish]

However, more pertinent to this thread, do you think I should take the zoas out that were mowed down by that little hell raiser and dip them as a precaution??

You can if you like, but if that star has reproduced it's babies are already everywhere

 

[greg1786]

Any idea how fast they reproduce? The LR is the only recent addition to the tank and that was purchased last on saturday and went in the tank on tuesday.

 

[kichimark]

I had mine come in on a piece of live rock as well. At first I saw maybe two or so but left them there because the gf liked them. I would say within 4-5 months My tank was infested with them. It really depends on the available food sources in your tank (carrying capacity) which limits the threshold. I take them out whenever I can and lately they have declined (carrying capacity...less algae since thats what mine eat and nothing else apparently).

But lets think about this for a moment, I know for a fact they breed asexually and possibly even sexually but lets stay with the asexual part. Your tank is new to them so possibly has tons of food for them to eat. 1 turns into 2, 2 turns into 4, 4 to 8, etc etc. I do not know the generation time but trust me, they spread quick. I would suggest taking them out now if you see them since it has been confirmed yours are the coral eating type.

 

[elFloyd]

A word of caution with Harlequin Shrimp... all they eat is starfish. After the Asterina Stars are gone you will need to feed them chocolate chip starfish every other week or the shrimp will starve.

 

[Desisto941]

A word of caution with Harlequin Shrimp... all they eat is starfish. After the Asterina Stars are gone you will need to feed them chocolate chip starfish every other week or the shrimp will starve.

Right now we can't find him in the tank. IDK where it got to... So far the asterina stars are few and far between (nothing like before). But no sign of the shrimp. Trying to figure out if it is alive.