What are these?

[ReefNasty]

I have these little tiny starfish looking things on my glass in the mornings when the lights are out. They are less than the size of a pencil eraser and they actually look like tiny sandsifters except for the fact that they only have 4 legs or limbs or whatever you call them. Thye look like incomplete starfish. Are these bad and will they hurt my tank and if I can how will I get rid of them?

 

[afishyonados]

Wow, you opened a can of worms on this one! They are probably an Asterina species. Most of which are harmless, while a few are predaceous. I believe the general consensus on this site, (correct me if I am wrong), is "Agh! Get rid of them now!"

 

[ReefNasty]

I have had them for ever and they do not seem to hurt anything and they seem to live in the sandbed. I just hate them on my glass and I just want to make sure they are not bad. How do I get rid of them?

 

[whiteshark]

I had tons of asterina at one point, never bothered anything. I wouldn't worry about em.

 

[donfishy76]

just keep an eye on them, because they can grow and populate your tank, almost to the point of an epidemic

 

[jasper24]

There have been lots of threads on these. If they are on the glass and are white in color I think they are ok. I have these as well as some bluish / gray ones. The bluish / gray ones I find on my LR and coral. I remove these.