Hitchiker starfish opinions

[giantxtc]

I have alot of little off-white hitchiker starfish in my system.I have not noticed any ill effects from them and they tend to be most active in the early evening.They do eat on the algae,mostly on the glass.The owner of the lfs picks them out of his tanks and feeds them to his wrasses.Does anybody have any experience with these?My live rock is a mix of Marshall island and Fiji.Also,they seem to divide quite regularly and it in not uncommon to see some with only one leg.The biggest one I have seen is about the size of a pencil eraser.Thanks for any input!

[DJ88©]

Sounds a lot like mini brittle stars. :) Look carefully at your LR and you will see little arms "waving" at you from all over. :) If there is enough food and a tank somewhat free of preditation they will multiply and be everywhere.. well not in plague proportions but.. :)

[FireEater]

They could possibly be mini brittle stars. They get no bigger than an inch across.

They readily multiply in our tanks and are a good part of the cleanup crew.

Do they look like this?
http://www.local1259iaff.org/starfish1.jpg

Mark

[giantxtc]

Mark,no they look more like the typical starfish.Like you would see washed up on a beach.I wish they were mini brittle stars.Here's a bad pic I just took of one.

[asmujica]

Originally posted by giantxtc
Mark,no they look more like the typical starfish.Like you would see washed up on a beach.I wish they were mini brittle stars.Here's a bad pic I just took of one.

I don't think that dude holding up the camera is reefsafe........ :D

[brianlena2000]

Those are asterina stars. The most common variety is completely safe (algae eater).

As long as they stay away from your corals they are fine (the 2 other varieties that are not as common are coral eaters).

:smokin:

[jimroth]

If they bother you, you can add a harlequin shrimp. That will take care of the problem, but you will eventually have to buy live starfish to feed it.

[giantxtc]

Originally posted by asmujica
I don't think that dude holding up the camera is reefsafe........ :D

Do you know how long it took me to get situated in the tank to get that shot!I can't even hold my breath that long.Actually it was just my reflection!:rolleyes: