Asterna Stars Are Evil And Must Die!!!

[G.SMITHII]

so ive had several colonies of zoos, dissapear.

ive also seen a serious decline in my coraline algae growth.

i couldnt figure it out. BUT then, started to suspect these tiny lil starfish.

well this weekend i got out a magnifying glass and low and behold, there are actual holes in the zooanthids, and the mat where any one asterna had been resting.

and on the coraline algae, same deal. where ever there was an asterna star, a strait hole through the coraline to the rock or glass underneath.

now my problem is that i have hundreds of these lil bastards in an 18 gallon tank.

BUT i have found somewhat of a solution. I took a wood skewer, split one in down the middle like 2 inches, put a big needle between the 2 halves, then wrapped it tightly with string.

this is my asterna star stabber. i have literally taken out more that 200 of these things this weekend, and plan on more.


but a word to the wise, ASTERNA STARS ARE BAD UMMMKAY!!!

[fishysteve]

Only certain species prey on corals. Some are just an eyesore.

[hyperfocal]

Some certainly are, but most are fine. After one nasty one chomped down on a new frag, I went on a vindictive hunting spree too; I ended up with *more* after the slaughter. I think I just cleared out the competition and allowed the smaller ones to take over.

My coral-eater looked like this:
http://reef.eldersign.org/images/attack/asterina.jpg

I haven't seen any similar since -- it was the only brownish one. I think I lucked out, it's been over a year now.

[tcblue]

I had the same problem yet most people say they are no problem they do eat tiny zoa so the colony does not expand

[BodiBuilt]

How about a Harliquin Shrimp? Will they eat them...

[useskaforevil]

yea harliquins will eat them. but they'll eat alot of them and need to be fed after they've plowed throguh your supply. and only some of the types of small starfish will eat coral, not all.

[miwoodar]

Mine are blue/grey. They've eaten plenty of coralline (I can see the trails they leave very easily). I've never witnessed any coral predation. I recently started to remove them from my tank.

[G.SMITHII]

i was all about harliquins, but they would be just too expensive a snack for my mantis.