Jan February 28, 2009 Share February 28, 2009 I just found two tiny hitch hikers. One on a rock, the other on a hermit crabs back. They are teeny tiny and grayish blue. I've seen brown ones with six legs too. Does anyone know anything about them? I said I'd ask a lot of q's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo February 28, 2009 Share February 28, 2009 Can you upload a picture? That would help. But it sounds like you have seen an asteria star fish and the brown thing an aptasia anemone. the first one is good IMO and the other not so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller February 28, 2009 Share February 28, 2009 If it's the mutated SF's, I'd pull them. They can multiply and be a PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 28, 2009 Author Share February 28, 2009 Can you upload a picture? That would help. But it sounds like you have seen an asteria star fish and the brown thing an aptasia anemone. the first one is good IMO and the other not so good. Here it is. It's the gray thingy to the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 28, 2009 Share February 28, 2009 asterina star, I like 'em.... they do a good job of cleaning coraline off the glass and eating algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefhunter March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 very common as hitch hikers... you will see many peoples tanks infested with them. I would take them out if I were you but they don't hurt much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 Jan, that's definitely an asterina star. They multiply by fission and there have been inconsistent reports in the hobby over the years of them becoming predatory and eating corals and zoas. It's unclear to me if the source of the inconsistency is species related or if there are other triggers at work. Even within this forum, we've had people attest to their harmless nature only to report later on that they caught one causing damage. Personally, I remove them when I spot them rather than to risk an infestation and then having them turn on me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikryd March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 I don't like anything I can't control in the tank. They are one of them. I pull them out if I see them. The wife liked them till I showed her what a tank can look like when they get out of control! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 1, 2009 Author Share March 1, 2009 DO I just take them out and then what? What do I do with them? Do I just throw them away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 1, 2009 Author Share March 1, 2009 I don't like having to kill anything that comes on a live rock. I also don't want anything that can take over my tank. I'll have my husband take care of these guys. Thanks to everyone for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikryd March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 DO I just take them out and then what? What do I do with them? Do I just throw them away? Mine always ended up on the top of my old light. For some reason I always left them there since I was busy doing tank maintainance when I saw them and forgot to take them to the trash till the next day! I don't like killing anything either, but a cockroach is a cockroach and they reproduce in the millions whether we take out a couple or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 I don't like having to kill anything that comes on a live rock. I also don't want anything that can take over my tank. I'll have my husband take care of these guys. Thanks to everyone for your help. LOL. "Let's get in the car, star. We're gonna take a little ride." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 LOL. "Let's get in the car, star. We're gonna take a little ride." We're going to the bright light in the sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 1, 2009 Author Share March 1, 2009 Mine always ended up on the top of my old light. For some reason I always left them there since I was busy doing tank maintainance when I saw them and forgot to take them to the trash till the next day! I don't like killing anything either, but a cockroach is a cockroach and they reproduce in the millions whether we take out a couple or not. Wow, they are like cockroaches. I did a 50% water change last night and today these guys are all over the place. They're fast too....but we're faster . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 Just for another point of view I leave them in my tank, and haven't had any problems. If I find one on a coral I toss it in the sump. Like everything else they serve a purpose, and if that means less scraping on my part I'm all for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE March 1, 2009 Share March 1, 2009 I second what Hilary says, if you decide to take them out of the tank, it's just more work for you. I haven't had an "infestation" problem with them in either of the two tanks I've had and I've never seen one go after a coral. The "bad" ones are the ones that have blue or red spots which the picture you showed didn't. If a problem does arise with too many, you can always get a harlequin shrimp which will keep the numbers down. just my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 1, 2009 Author Share March 1, 2009 Just for another point of view I leave them in my tank, and haven't had any problems. If I find one on a coral I toss it in the sump. Like everything else they serve a purpose, and if that means less scraping on my part I'm all for it! Hi Hilary, Weren't you TOMT? Gorgeous!!!! So you haven't had any problems with these guys? I asked my husband if he'd take them out for me. He said sure, do you have somewhere else to put them? I said no you have to dispose of them. Nature boy gives me a look like I'm out of my mind. He says "You're asking me to kill something?" I'll leave them be for now. I've got bigger problems with this set up than these start fish. Thanks everyone once again for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 2, 2009 Share March 2, 2009 As I mentioned above, there's not clear consensus on the asterina question, but it's good to ask and to research it. Some have problems with them, some don't. Some don't think they have problems but later do. Very few go the other way (because they take them out). Anyway, here's a few links that might be worth hanging on to. You'll see the controversy even in these links (people in the first link think asterina are falsely accused opportunistic feeders, in the second link asterina are coral killers). Some posts I've read try to distinguish between the two by saying that one color morph is peaceful while another is a pest. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm http://www.garf.org/Star/starfish.html http://www.nano-reef.com/invertebrates/?id=9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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