good or bad? Mini star fish

[dz6t]

I have some mini star fish comes with some live rock I bought, they are about 2 to 3 mm in size and some have three legs and some have five. Are they good or bad? What kind of fish eats them? Thanks

 

[Piscevore]

They rock.

 

[dz6t]

why?

 

[nunofs]

They're good... they're detrivores and help clean the rock holes where they hide. They multiply pretty rapidly but the population doesn't seem to get out of control. I actually got a "few" (more like a few hundred ) from Jeff/stang8s a while back to increase biodiversity in my tank.

Nuno

 

[Moe_K]

Coincidentally, they came up on an RDO thread accidentally quite recently. LInk with a decent picture:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=68952

I need more adverbs in this post, quickly and truthfully.

 

[nunofs]

Ah, I was not referring to those (Asterina) stars... I was referring to "mini brittle stars". See http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_pages/faq_rock3.htm for comparison (the first pic is an Asterina, the second is a "mini brittle star")

Dong, which kind did you find?

Nuno

 

[conrad]

I thought Dong's description was a very good clear description of an Asterina. It didn't sound anything like a mini brittle star to me. I'm sure he'll recognize the picture in the thread Moe linked.

I'd also heard the bit mentioned in the thread about them harming SPS. Sounds like there's some debate on the topic though. Anyone here have anything to add on that score?

--cn

 

[Aquadiva]

Quoting from Julian Sprung's "Invertebrates: A quick reference guide," pg 201:

"....a very small sea star, some only 1/4 inches in diameter, others up to about 1 inch. Three species are commonly imported with live rock. A small whitish Asterina sp. feeds on algae on the aquarium glass. Other, larger species may sometimes feed on coral tissue and are dangerous in a reef aquarium because they proliferate rapidly by fission."

"Hardiness in captivity: Hardy. Reproduce prolifically. Life span - years."

I found one, and since I don't have a clue which one of the three species it was, it was unfortunately disposed of properly. The key phrase for me was, "reproduce prolifically" and "life span of years."

 

[jovreef]

I say better safe tha sorry! they could live in your tank for years and not bother anything, then one day eat up all of what they were living off of and turn to your corals as a new meal. I found 3 and they went bye bye.

 

[Matt L.]

...I'd also heard the bit mentioned in the thread about them harming SPS. Sounds like there's some debate on the topic though. Anyone here have anything to add on that score?

It now believe there's an urban legend about everything harming SPS.

I have had these starfish in my tank for years, and they are completely harmelss. Their number seems to remain in check, and more importantly, I have never seen them anywhere near a coral of any sorts. They are detrivores and algae consumers, like an Astrea sp. snail, except, well, not a snail but a starfish. You find them on the glass and live rock,

Matt

 

[starrfish]

Dong - you probably got them on the rock you got from me. I've had them in my tank for the last year and half since I set it up and they are completely harmless. They do multiply, but not by the thousands. I wouldn't worry about them.

 

[dz6t]

Actually I was referred to the "hard shell" "SPS eatting" stars.

By the way, I also have tons of little brittle/serpent star and I know they are good (cute).

 

[Swim74]

there is a link on www.garf.org that talks about a BAD type of starfish, I think they eat corals, its easy to find on their site by searchign around, it looks like the same starfish

 

[starrfish]

Dong - I thought you were getting out of SPS??