small spreading starfish.... help

[seneca2_17]

I have recently noticed that my tank is slowly becoming infested with some kind of small white starfish. they are tiny and stick mostly to the glass, there is a ton in the fuge. they are NOT brittle stars. they have kind of a hard shell . I have no clue what this is, please help. what should i do about it? thanks

 

[ac7av]

Ill take some!!

 

[ac7av]

Really they are small artisan starfish, I think that’s what they are called. Some will say there bad news but they never get very much bigger then what you’re probably seeing. If you get an infestations of them they could start irritating some corals but really there just as much a part of a good cleaner crew as snails and hermits IMO.

 

[SaltwaterNoobs]

Apparently, from everywhere I've read, they are quite beneficial. If they're such a bother, I know Harlequin Shrimp eat starfish, but I'm not sure how they are towards coral.

Overall, though, they seem to be quite harmless - and kinda cute!

 

[mfinn]

They are asterina starfish and are generally harmless.
However some do eat zoanthids.

 

[Inconservatory]

Generally, these guys are harmless. As Finn mentioned, however, there are a few species which feed on zooanthids. Check this out for more details:
http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384