Whats this
- Thread starter casalt
- Start date
shiveley
Active member
One of the starfish of recent concern appearing on the scene a bit more often is the Asterina Anomala. The starfish is small, often less than 1/2 inch across and very hardy in the aquaria. They reproduce often to plague proportions by fission.
While some people like to point fingers and blame Asterina stars for such things as polyps not extending, and of consuming zoanthids, myself and many other reefers in my area have many of these in our tanks and have never seen any deleterious effects. These starfish have little to no affect on the overall bioload, and are excellent detritivores. The main reason that they seem to get accused of as much ill as they do, is because they do reproduce like weeds. If your tank is nutrient rich enough, they can grow to plague proportions, although it is typically easy to keep in check with manual extraction. Have a browse through our existing Asterina starfish FAQ's and decide for yourself if they sound right for you: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm Hope this helps you!
While some people like to point fingers and blame Asterina stars for such things as polyps not extending, and of consuming zoanthids, myself and many other reefers in my area have many of these in our tanks and have never seen any deleterious effects. These starfish have little to no affect on the overall bioload, and are excellent detritivores. The main reason that they seem to get accused of as much ill as they do, is because they do reproduce like weeds. If your tank is nutrient rich enough, they can grow to plague proportions, although it is typically easy to keep in check with manual extraction. Have a browse through our existing Asterina starfish FAQ's and decide for yourself if they sound right for you: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm Hope this helps you!
robertloop
Member
;I have some of those... my zoas are fine. 
Wee-Reef Master
New member
I've watched a version of these eat my zoas!
shiveley
Active member
As I mentioned, I have quite a few of these in my tanks. If you've seen one you probably have more than that one as well. that being said, I couldn't remove mine if I wanted too, they're everywhere. I mostly see them on the glass though. I've never had a problem with them (that I'm aware of).
kevin95695
Member of the Registry
I'm with shiveley. Got 'em by the dozens. I wouldn't sweat it unless you confirm they are the sub-group that are polyp eaters. If they're not, they'll be cleaners.
sacfishguy
New member
i have tons and have them eat other corals besides zoa's. ed if you find a Harlequin shrimp LMK i'm in the market on getting one
Nu2SW
New member
I never said you did. Nor was I trying to point you out. So I dont know why you think I was trying to point you out.
I was stating an opinion that I have of what people tend to do when they "think" they see something.
They very well may be, Maybe your tank is so low on algea and other food sources for them, they find the next best thing.
Just like a bristleworms.
Twisted
Premium Member
Well, I have them in my tank, but only a few so far and I have not noticed any problems. We also have them in the store tank, in the SPS display they have insane amounts, if I go in first thing in the morning before anyone has started cleaning tanks, there are hundreds out on the glass.
As well as the 125 softies display tank, and haven't noticed any problems, but that's not to say that there are no problems.
Anyways I see the shrimp you want on the stock list every so often and my supplier is from the bay area, so I am sure all of your local fish stores have the same supplier, just not sure which ones use them and which ones don't.
I know at my store if someone ask me to watch for something like that I will put thier name and phone number on a "Wish list" and if I see something from that list on that weeks stock list I will call the person and make sure they still want it, then order it.
I know it works for my smaller town, in a place like Sac, or san fran you may need to know the store employees or owners to get them to do that.
As well as the 125 softies display tank, and haven't noticed any problems, but that's not to say that there are no problems.
Anyways I see the shrimp you want on the stock list every so often and my supplier is from the bay area, so I am sure all of your local fish stores have the same supplier, just not sure which ones use them and which ones don't.
I know at my store if someone ask me to watch for something like that I will put thier name and phone number on a "Wish list" and if I see something from that list on that weeks stock list I will call the person and make sure they still want it, then order it.
I know it works for my smaller town, in a place like Sac, or san fran you may need to know the store employees or owners to get them to do that.
