Dang palythoa preditor

flricordia · Jan 1, 2009

Found one of these on a closed Armaggedon polyp. I removed it and found damage to the polyp (the polyp has since recovered), what looked like a rough patch on the side of the polyp where the star was attatched. Since then I have found another which I believe was feeding on one of my StardustPEs.
I have always heard these to be reef safe, but I now pluck them out when I see them. So far about 8 I have removed.

revhtree · Jan 1, 2009

I was loosing zoas and palys as well due to these. I got a harlequin shrimp and they are gone! :)

Darren · Jan 1, 2009

I lost a few PPE's to these a while back. Most people said that they were harmless but I know better. The pure white ones seem harmless but the gray / blueish ones are evil.

coraldiva · Jan 1, 2009

I'm having the same problem with blue ****** zoas in my 60g. I bought two small harlequin shrimp and they aren't keeping up. I've been plucking the starfish out whenever I see them.

Mr.Firemouth · Jan 1, 2009

Asterina Starfish, have a variable diet, as do some urchins and other starfish. I have seen tanks overrun with Asterinas and NO problems with predation, however i know that some types of Asterinas DO eat coral. I usually try to remove them, especially if they are feeding on coral.

Here is more from our friend Anthony....
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/ac/feature/index.php

rebelprettyboy · Jan 1, 2009

oh boy I had the same problem in my 14. And ive pulled out back 400+ at least. Now I only see 4-5

Acroholic · Jan 1, 2009

I have these also. Thanks for the Heads Up!
Dave

GrouperGenius · Jan 1, 2009

I allways heard they were reef safe and now my tank is over run with them. I bought a harlequin shrimp a week ago to start eating them. I'm not sure if he is because I only see him after lights out.

FateX8 · Jan 1, 2009

theres too many asterina species starfish to say theyre ALL reef safe especially when there are some that arent
for the most part they are, and when i say they i mean the asterina genus

Supreme Reefs · Jan 1, 2009

i have soo many now im worried :/

rackyrane · Jan 1, 2009

I have had the same problem. The problematic ones in my tank have a pinkish back. The little suckers have also almost taken out a SPS---they keep eating the polyps.
Have been looking for a harlequin (as suggested by folks here---Thanks again!). Haven't been able to find any locally.

Hypertek99 · Jan 1, 2009

I have seen asterina's eat zoo's but no one ever believes me.

Hypertek99 · Jan 1, 2009

Oh and they multiply quick too.

coraldiva · Jan 1, 2009

Hypertek99 said:
Oh and they multiply quick too.

No kidding!

pete43 · Jan 6, 2009

I am so glad that Coraldiva sent me a link to this thread!Very informative.
I lost a lot of dragon eyes,kryptonite,armor of gods etc.I have about a dozen or so,radioactive dragoneyes left.However I did not lose any palythoas at all, are they too big for the asterinas?
Thanks again.
So long,Pete

poolshark181 · Jan 6, 2009

im throwing all i find in the sump, ate a single polyp rpe frag i got. im planning on letting them breed in the sump so if i ever want a harlequin, i have a food source

pete43 · Jan 6, 2009

I just ran a tube from the tank to the chamber of the sump where the liverock is,and spot-vacuumed as many as I can into the sump.
I'll try it again in the morning when they are out the most.
So long,Pete

eagleeyez5 · Jan 9, 2009

I just started to pull these little punks out, I pulled over 30 in less than five minutes after seeing one stuck to the side of a zoa for two days. When I pulled that little pecker off there was a huge bite taken out of the zoa. dirty little jerks.

epicenter · Jan 9, 2009

I tosses in two harlequin's to do battle with these tiny stars, picking them out got old fast.My question is, How many harlequin's can I put in a 175? Will they start to fight if I have more than two??