Random Starfish???

[ClownFishGuy6]

Well I just noticed today that randomly there is a tiny star in my tank what looks like a star fish but is also moving and I think it has tentacles so that's why I think its a starfish. I don't know how it got in my tank. I assume it got here from when I bought my live rock? I don't know. If any of you have experienced this then let me know what's going on.

 

[SpSChief85]

Pictures would help... that link takes me to my email... my guess just by what your saying is a mini brittle starfish, but to be positive I would need a picture.

 

[Teecz]

Mostly likely a brittle star as stated above. And seems to be a hitch hiker

 

[mhurley]

I removed the links. They are linking people to their own Gmail accounts (including me) which is a little weird. Perhaps you need to look into a different photo hosting site.

 

[ClownFishGuy6]

What do you mean by hitch hiker

 

[lifeoffaith]

Hitchhikers are unintended additions to the tank that come in on rock or corals.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Once again read this link LOL http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

 

[DgenR8]

Once again read this link LOL http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

This is the best advice offered in this thread. It's actually the best advice anyone can offer a newbie that has not read all the links, in that link.

 

[Pet Detective]

It's probably an Asterina Starfish, I have a lot of them, have had them for years, they have not been a problem so far, they rarely get larger than a dime in my tank.

 

[Buffcole]

Get rid of it, it is a pest. Or get a harlequin shrimp to do it for you. They eat them. They will divide very quickly and they will eat any coraline algae you have.

 

[Member No. 1]

Get rid of it, it is a pest. Or get a harlequin shrimp to do it for you. They eat them. They will divide very quickly and they will eat any coraline algae you have.

While this advise is correct, if you don't want the starfish in your tank, please remove it by hand. Getting a harlequin shrimp to control a few Asterina Stars is not a good idea. Once the starfish are gone, you will either have to return it, or will need to buy starfish to feed it. The usual method is to buy chocolate chip starfish and either freeze it then cut pieces to feed the shrimp, or put it in your sump, leave it alive, and cut a leg off to feed as the leg will regenerate.

 

[DgenR8]

Get rid of it, it is a pest. Or get a harlequin shrimp to do it for you. They eat them. They will divide very quickly and they will eat any coraline algae you have.

Jumping the gun, just a bit, don't you think? Even if you among the group that considers Asterina stars to be a nuisance, you have no way to know if the OP is talking about Asterinas. He might have seen a micro brittle, which would qualify as harmless.

 

[ClownFishGuy6]

I will make a new thread about this once I fix my other, bigger problems