Starfish explosion?

CyanoMagnet

New member
Hello. I have been noticing these tiny little baby starfish on my aquarium glass for a while. Theyre about the size of a copepod.
I found what I think is some adults under a liverock. About 1/2 -1 inch across. White, skinny arms. Almost looks like a daddy long legs, and not your traditional meaty spider.

Question is do these things destroy my copepod population because I have a mandarin Im trying to keep well fed. Is there any thing else I should be worried about when keeping these starfish.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9862397#post9862397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
They could be mini-brittle stars

I believe they are asterina. Going to do some research on them now.
 
There fine as long as there white, and not black. They are scavengers will not harm any thing but algae.
 
Theyre deffinetly white. And my assumption was they are algae eaters as well since theyre on the glass eating algae (lol).

I am just concerened about what they eat when they grow up!

I dont have any SPS so no worries there.

I have never had to worry about copepods before but since I got this mandarin I have become concerened.

I let the glass go unclean a week to check out if Im getting alot of copepods and sure enough theres hundreds(visible) on the glass.

Does this mean there are alot in the substrate and rocks?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9862879#post9862879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by orchidsnfish
They dont grow up. They stay small.

Angela

In that case we a talking about different species. The ones in my tank do grow from copepod size to the size of a corn. Theyre white with very skinny arms.
 
my fuge is full of them as well as my tank. they seem to be good cleaners. I never noticed anything harmful about them.
 
I'm wondering if you might be talking about hydroid's instead of starfish. The skinny arms are why I say this. Do you see them anywhere other than on the glass?
 
I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about. Looks like your typical mini-brittle star, except its white. Also, the legs are not "hairy" and the disk in the middle is mabe a little bigger compared to the black/brown mini serpants. I just saw one on a piece of GSP I have in a holding tank and was wondering if it was friend or foe. From what I've read on WWM they sound fine, just like the other mini-brittles.
 
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