Caught red handed!

[matts125]

Well I know there has been many debates on the fact of preditory stars and if they actually eat corals. I have added replies before that I have caught them eating my sps in the past and now suddenly I have been noticing my sps colonies to have dead spots from over night well when I turned my lights on today I found the culprit once again! here is a picture just for your viewing pleasure and maybe now more people will know they do eat corals!

PS I have caught them eating my zoanthids too!

Matt

 

[Elmo18]

Hmm...yikes. I'm sorry for your corals Matt. Darn hitchhikers!

If you are wanting to go about it the natural way....which probably isn't the best for the SPS in the meantime, Harlequin shrimp, I have heard, should clear them up.

Best,
Ilham

 

[matts125]

Hmm...yikes. I'm sorry for your corals Matt. Darn hitchhikers!

If you are wanting to go about it the natural way....which probably isn't the best for the SPS in the meantime, Harlequin shrimp, I have heard, should clear them up.

Best,
Ilham

I have had them in the past but they die when the stars are gone from starvation...

I am re-considering them again...

Matt

 

[CarlaW]

Can you get one on loan???

 

[dailydriven911]

Matt do you have any pics of these starfish? Are these the small white ones that also eat coraline algea? I have quite a few of these in my tank. I'd throw in the shrimp and save your corals

Thanks,

Jayson

 

[matts125]

Matt do you have any pics of these starfish? Are these the small white ones that also eat coraline algea? I have quite a few of these in my tank. I'd throw in the shrimp and save your corals

Thanks,

Jayson

Look closely the starfish is on the left edge of the white (dead part of the coral)

Matt

 

[dailydriven911]

Dang I think I may have them as well. I know they multiply like crazy! I'll keep an eye out on my corals as well. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Damsel13]

Ok, I was just at the dentist and had one of those suction tubes in my mouth that are gentle ( won't attach your tongue to them) but strong. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED ONE OF THOSE MACHINES .

I wonder how much they are?:shock: Ohhh don't even want to know.
Sorry about the starfish. It be so frustrating when you have to fight the battle against stuff like this.
-

 

[scytale]

Just to play devil's advocate here:

But is that starfish The Cause or The Effect of a dying coral?

Most stars are scavengers, right? They eat whatever they can get their little "feet" on....

To put it another way, I could post this picture of vultures and say "Aha! see, the vultures are eating a zebra--they must have killed it last night!"
(.... But my photographic evidence doesn't make the vultures guilty of murder, it just makes them guilty of "being a scavenger"....)

 

[matts125]

Just to play devil's advocate here:

But is that starfish The Cause or The Effect of a dying coral?

Most stars are scavengers, right? They eat whatever they can get their little "feet" on....

To put it another way, I could post this picture of vultures and say "Aha! see, the vultures are eating a zebra--they must have killed it last night!"
(.... But my photographic evidence doesn't make the vultures guilty of murder, it just makes them guilty of "being a scavenger"....)

AHH and I knew this would come about as it always does
I am positive it is the advocate because when I take it off the coral there is a perfect circular white spot from where it had been feasting and as I said I cought them eating my zoas several times as well and zoas dont suffer from RTN as it is a sps disease but on the zoanthids when I took the star off the flesh of the zoanthid underneath the star was half eaten and dead...

Thanks for the constructive comments...

Matt

 

[preons]

Ok, I was just at the dentist and had one of those suction tubes in my mouth that are gentle ( won't attach your tongue to them) but strong. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED ONE OF THOSE MACHINES .

I wonder how much they are?:shock: Ohhh don't even want to know.
Sorry about the starfish. It be so frustrating when you have to fight the battle against stuff like this.
-

i am a dentist and those things are really expensive. you have to buy the suction unit ($2,000). It looks like a generator. Then you have to hook it up to the sewer. Then you have to buy the hose part that you see in the office that hooks on the chair ($800) then you have to pay someone $100 an hour to hook it up because all the other little parts are from germany and are not for sale. So I guess its less expensive than most reef equiptment.

 

[NaH2O]

AHH and I knew this would come about as it always does
I am positive it is the advocate because when I take it off the coral there is a perfect circular white spot from where it had been feasting and as I said I cought them eating my zoas several times as well and zoas dont suffer from RTN as it is a sps disease but on the zoanthids when I took the star off the flesh of the zoanthid underneath the star was half eaten and dead...

Thanks for the constructive comments...

Matt

Ahhh - the tell tale sign is missing tissue. I saw a talk by Dr. Ron, and he indicated the only way to know for sure if your asterina stars are the predatory kind is by taking them off the coral and looking for missing tissue under them. If no tissue is missing from directly under them, then they are likely simply "passing through" on their journey.

The problem with trying to remove them manually is they can easily drop legs to grow their populations. There is also no way to know if you remove your corals that they'd die off. They could survive on some other food source in the tank. If it were my tank, I'd consider the harlequin shrimp, unless of course you have other starfish.

 

[Damsel13]

hahaha preons:lol: :lol: . Ok then maybe a mini shop vac? Just kidding. What are you going to do about the pesky five footed? freeloaders matts125?
-

 

[matts125]

hahaha preons:lol: :lol: . Ok then maybe a mini shop vac? Just kidding. What are you going to do about the pesky five footed? freeloaders matts125?
-

I am going to get another harlequin shrimp....

Matt

 

[Herefishyfishy]

There are many reasons for tissue loss. I have found Asterina starfish on sick corals but never on healthy ones. Per GARF, Acropora colonies start to turn bright white at the base in a sharp edged pattern. Never even heard of one eating a healthy stag. Like that purple coral you "traded" with me for the pom-pom and stylo, it completely RTNed along with your entire colony. Was that from the little starfish? I used to blame red flatworms for my sick corals. My tank has never done so well since having these stars all over. No obviously the starfish have nothing to do with how fast my corals are now growing. Perhaps the increase in health is from the new Ca reactor and fresh bulbs plus the new chiller, etc etc etc. Easy to cast blame, harder to cure. You might have a predator on your hands, things change. I just find it amazing that with the hundreds of tanks in the NW alone full of these stars, that we do NOT hear of more predation. Point I'm making, remove each and every starfish and I bet your sick coral will not magically heal.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/gallery.htm

 

[Dr. Dee]

Hey matt here is what you can do,Go buy your self a pair of Harlequin Shrimp. (Hymenocera picta) they will eat starfish like crazy and yes reef safe
but will eat all kinds of stars
http://www.marinecenter.com/inverts/shrimps/harlequinshrimp/

 

[matts125]

Never even heard of one eating a healthy stag. Like that purple coral you "traded" with me for the pom-pom and stylo, it completely RTNed along with your entire colony. Was that from the little starfish?

I appreciate your advice but you dont need to come on here acting like I dont know what I am doing. that acro I gave you was new from live aquaria not to mention it was a wild colony I told you I would make it up to you next time we meet..

all I am saying is I really dont appreciate you bringing something like that up on an open thread acting like I am a bad person to trade with....

That is was PMs are for!

Thanks
Matt