Starfish attacking coral

[steveoutlaw]

Ok, so I have a TON of the little starfish all over my tank. I just recently noticed that my cali-tort was bleaching. At first I thought there were AEFW on them, but when I plucked them off with tweezers, they were tiny little starfish.

 

Time to exterminate. Do I need to get a wrasse to take care of this problem? What's the best thing to get?

[epleeds]

i heard harlequin shrimp eat those, but then you need to feed them or they die.

[Charlie]

I have a blue headed wrasse that I picked up that would love to munch them down. I got him at Pristine Aquariums. You're more than welcome to try him out. His NOT shrimp safe though.

[Jon Lazar]

Are you sure the starfish are causing the damage, and not just eating the decaying coral flesh? I've got a lot of asterina starfish in my tank, and I only see move to a coral that's already receding or dying.

 

Can you pull your cali tort from the tank to dip it in Revive? I'd bet the starfish you're talking about divide through fission, and do no lay eggs.

[steveoutlaw]

Jon - I thought that might be the case, but I'm noticing them on perfectly healthy corals as well. They must have turned into carnivores!

[lanman]

While I've sometimes had my suspicions - I've never been able to prove that they are eating heathy corals.

 

bob

[gmubeach]

wow ... starfish you say I have like 5 astrians they've never hurt my corals should I take them out?

[steveoutlaw]

I wouldn't take them out unless I actually saw them feasting on a coral. Like I said, this is the first I've heard of it.

[Origami]

Steve, are these asterina stars?

[CHUBAKAH]

I have had these guys eating on perfectly healthy corals myself. I don't believe half the stuff that I read anymore.

Edited June 25, 2010 by CHUBAKAH

[steveoutlaw]

Steve, are these asterina stars?

 

They look like asterinas.......that's why I left them alone. But now that I've seen what I've seen, I'm going to purchase an astrina eradicator!

[mogurnda]

My understanding is that there are many species of little stars that look like that. In my tank, I have hundreds, possibly thousands, and they graze on the glass, rocks, and some of the smoother corals like my blue ridge, without ever seeming to harm anything. I can't remember them crawling on the SPS. Anyway, whether you have a different species or yours have developed a taste for corals, it sounds like you need a way of getting them under control. My six-line used to eat them, and the little brittles, so I would second the suggestion for a wrasse.

[Origami]

They look like asterinas.......that's why I left them alone. But now that I've seen what I've seen, I'm going to purchase an astrina eradicator!

There are so many reports on these. I first came across them being mentioned in GARF article:

http://www.garf.org/STAR/starfish.html

 

In the article (from 2001), they were recorded as attacking SPS in one of their aquariums. I've read other reports accusing them of preying on various zoanthids.

 

While some people's tanks host many of these and they've never had problems (by their own report), others have had these problems. Some, even here, initially reported no problems only to report problems later on. It's hard to say whether it's a particular species (or set of species) of Asterina, or if the behavior is triggered by something. When I see them, though, I take them out as a matter of habit and precaution.

 

Physical removal works as does a Harlequin Shrimp.

[steveoutlaw]

So, looks like I'm getting me a wrasse this weekend!!

[Charlie]

Try Pristine for one of their blue heads. He won't work so well with shrimp, but he sure is pretty and friendly.

[TonyD]

FWIW....I have a ton of asterina starfish and my 6-line won't touch them.

[WaterDog]

FWIW....I have a ton of asterina starfish and my 6-line won't touch them.

+1 to that I have a few asterinas in my tank and my 6-line generally leaves them alone. That coupled with the fact they're one of the meaner fish, I'd go with another wrasse rather than a 6-line IMO.

[steveoutlaw]

I'll try pristine and see if they have any blueheads. Thanks for the advice all.

[sen5241b]

I do have them but the instant I see them I pluck them out with tweezers. Plucked one out a couple days ago after not seeing any for months. They WILL eat coralline --its obvious to see the bleach white trail they leave behind. I read that only the kind I have, with a little bluish spot in the middle, will eat coralline. Once they multiply out of control it may not be so easy to pluck them out. Its best to look for them at night with a flashlight. My six-line never ate them.

[treesprite]

I have 2 different species of these tiny stars in my tank. They do go all over SPS corals just as if the coral is an extension of the liverock. I am thinking that if there are a great number of them always sitting on a coral, there would be damage to the coral just from that, even if the coral isn't being munched.

 

On the other hand, in the past I found asterinas gobbling up a tiny piece of xenia and going all over my zoanthids - I haven't seen anything like that in a while, but then, I got the population down by tearing down the tank and scrubbing the liverock.

[jtro]

Steve

What did you finally end up getting and is it working??

Thanks

Jim

[treesprite]

I should have mentioned Nardoa star fish last time I posted... they eat asterinas. Unfortunately, they are very hard to find.