Tiny white Starfish

[Ohgee]

I was wondering?

When I moved some rock to a small 55gal tank from my main tank and treated for redbugs I found a few tiny little white starfish. I'm sure they are okay but I was wondering if anyone else knows anything about these cool looking critters?

I'm going to leave the smaller tank with a little LR in it setup becuase I've already seen some critters I never saw in the larger tank. Maybe there are some advantages to having a smaller more observable tank.

Duane

 

[CarlaW]

They are asterina stars. IME, they are harmless.

 

[Jiddy]

The only "bad" thing about asterina stars is, they have the ability to multiply like water rabbits if they have excess food source, so ive heard

 

[Woodstock]

I have asterinas in my tank and sump also. Some say they MAY bother corals but mine never have. They do multiply very quickly; dropping an arm or two which will develop into a complete starfish almost overnight.

Here is a pic of one on the front glass. 7 legs!!!

 

[MCSInc]

Another possibility...

If they were asterinas I would think you would have seen them before now.

Question: Do they look like serpent stars. My Micro serpent stars spawn periodically and I see young occasionally on the rocks. The young are very white but don't come out of the cracks very often. If you are seeing a pinhead size body with 5 lengthy hair size legs they could be young micro serpent stars.

Do you have adult micro serpent stars - they would look like striped legs waving around in the cracks of the rock. If so they are beneficial. Eating detrius and other waste. The adults grow to have about a 3 inch span from tip to tip but I rarely see them out unless they are spawning.

 

[Ohgee]

Thanks for all the information everyone. I'll try and get a picture of one soon so everyone can see him but that might be a little difficult as it's hard to catch him out

Not really sure what type he is but from looking at the picture from Woodstock and hearing MC's description I would have to say it's a Micro Serpent. Didn't know I had any but you never know what came on my rock. I didn't Quarentine it at all

I do have two larger Serpents so maybe it's a baby but I thought they multiplied by dropping an arm or something and this one was perfectly formed ..... just tiny.

I'll try my best to get a photo of him.

Thanks again
Duane

 

[Woodstock]

I have many of these tiny serpents in my tank also. This one in the pic is a bit larger than most of mine but you can get the idea of what they look like.

 

[NaH2O]

Duane - I doubt it is a baby from your larger serpents. These microserpent/brittle stars tend to be found as hitchhikers, and stay relatively small. They're great to have, IMO. Here's another shot from our gallery - you can see its central disk:

 

[MCSInc]

Hey, Woodstock, yours are different then mine... They have more white on them. I have been looking for some that are a little different so now at least I know they exist.

Last night I was moving some rock around and one tiny rock that I picked up had a juvenile micro serpent star. It was a very very light gray but I have seen really white juveniles that are not as big as this one was.

They are great entertainment to watch... if you put your finger down next to them they will try over and over to pull your finger into the crack of the rock. They are to small for you to feel it but it is fun to watch. Not quite as fun as playing with a kitten. LOL

 

[MCSInc]

Also if you ever get them to spawn they are hilarious. The first time I saw them all running around spawning I went into a MAJOR panic. I was sure that something had destroyed the tank because they were all running around bumping into each other on the glass. My husband had to point out that everything looked happy.

 

[Ohgee]

Thanks everyone, That is exactly what I have. The picture Nicki posted was almost identical except mine didn't have quiet as much color to it. Can't wait to see them breed MCSInc. Sounds like a hoot

 

[jake65]

I just saw one of the tiny little white ones in my tank last nite...pretty cool looking

jake

 

[Herefishyfishy]

To continue this thread, I have many asterina stars in my reef. I was enjoying them until a reef friend referred me to a GARF notice that they eat some SPS corals which I happent to have.

Never seen one on any of my corals yet often have seen them grazing on algae. Seem kind of cute, but if a parasite, bye-bye.

I want to know if anyone here has ever experienced predation by them.
Ever seen a dead spot under a star on your coral?

Your thoughts?

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

 

[Brenden]

Mike IME not all are predators. I have seen tanks loaded with them and SPS without problems. I have also heard horror storys of them eating SPS. I would leave them unless you see a problem.

 

[wingnut247]

My little white stars mainly come out at night. It appears that they can change colours to whatever they are crawling on. (which is why they may be hard to spot on the rock sometimes) I have observed them eating green and brown algae as well as red cyano! I like em.

But if you want them gone... get a harliquin shrimp. They eat stars! But they will not discriminate... they will eat your sand sifters too.

 

[burning2nd]

DIdo.

i have them hanging all over the place....... kinda think of them as the super small 2nd race in the tank.