7 Arm Star

[brewercm]

This guy is growing in my fuge and I thought it was pretty cool once he started growing arms back.

http://users.aol.com/brewerch66/private/star.jpg

[alexwolf]

yikes those are bad, i have them all over my tank!!!!! You want more?

[brewercm]

No, I have about 3 of them in my fuge. What makes them bad, they are pretty small little guys. This one can't measure more than 1/4 inch across at best.

[alexwolf]

yeah, i have read that they eat corals. I caught mine eating a montipora :?

[brewercm]

Glad it's in the fuge and not the tank then. They seem to stay on the walls most of the time, guess if I see any in the main tank I'll need make sure I pull them out. By the way Alex, did you get my PM about the skimmer/bubble trap.

[samiam_orami]

Thanks for the caulerpa Alex ...

I thought those stars you showed me were the bad ones but I wasn't sure so I didn't say anything ...

http://www.garf.org/
scroll down to the Aquarium pest folder
and you will find a little info on these guys ....

I had some a while back. I never saw them doing anything wrong but I took them out just to be on the safe side ....

talk to ya later ...
samiam

[samiam_orami]

For some reason I thought you were Alex ... oops
well has those stars also ... I better let him know ...

[alexwolf]

I am Alex!!!!

[samiam_orami]

That's why I got confused ....
I just met an Austin Alex ....

Here's a direct link to the star info
http://www.garf.org/news26p2.html#star

good to meet you SA Alex ...

[brewercm]

Thanks for the link, I was reading it and gueess I need to keep a close look out in my main tank and remove these guys from the sump.

Thanks again.

[malofish]

Will harlaquin shrimp eat these little stars??? And I thought that they were just small algae eaters???

[alexwolf]

i think harlequin shrimp will eat about anything......

[Tim Marvin]

No they won't. I had a few of these a while back and the harlequin was not interested. It ate chocolate chip stars fine, but I didn't feed it ffor a week and it never went after those stars. It was sure hungry when I threw in another chocolate chip. It is best to just flush those stars. I haven't seen one in over a year.

[Derek B]

Tim,

I have these things all over. Do you think they could be responsible for the coral recession I am having??? Have you ever heard or seen these stars eating corals first hand?

[Instar]

These stars eat organics. Anything organic. Algae, left over food, and when they happen to lite on a coral and stay, they digest that part of the coral. Trouble is, the stomach acid doesn't stop doing its damage after the star leaves the coral and you will loose that arm of the coral because RTN sets in. I've had to cut more than once to stop it and then I found the little so and so star that did it all fat and healthy looking so innocent. If you have many of those stars and want to keep sps, you will have to get rid of the stars to be successful. Even one will do some damage now and then, even in a large tank. And they multiply. They are pests. You could keep them in with softies or a species tank if you just have to have them. Yes Derek, I have seen them converge on a coral and feed on it. Then again, you need an RO unit for water make up and changes too. Sps aren't going to be long lived without a sump and in city water.

[malofish]

Is there any type of starfish that can be breed easily and quickly to avoid having to buy chocolate starfish all the time??