Star Fish Sex

[clerjfo]

We have noticed, several small starfish in our tank, after purchasing a sand sifting star fish a while back.

They seem to get bigger the strange thing is one seems to have 8 legs, and another one seems to have 1 leg larger than the others. We have spotted a third one with all five legs in proportion. Does anyone now if this is normal, do the legs sometimes develop at un even rates until maturity, or do I need to move the microwave oven away from the aquarium.

[clyde]

those prolly are Astroidea or Pateriella sp

see a picture to match up at

http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/pic.../faq_star.html

from reefs.org Hitchhiker FAQ

I just saw the cutest little starfish on the wall of my tank. It was no more than 1/2" across, had seven rather broad legs (three were much longer than the other four), and white in color. Is this guy ok?

This small star may be one of several species that hitchhikes into our tanks (Class: Astroidea). They are probably harmless algal grazers and detritivores, however, they should be watched carefully as many starfish are coral predators. More infomation about sea stars in general are in Ron Shimek's article at http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a...b/default.asp.


I see another small star in my tank that has five arms which are all webbed (arms are joined by tissue and not seperated) and is colored yellow/orange/mottled brown.

This is probably a Pateriella sp. sea star. These small stars are unlikely to cause any noticable damage unless they become very abundant. There have been reports of Pateriella sp. reproducing in aquaria and they seem to do quite well. Those who have them don't have any problems.

[clerjfo]

Clyde,

the first picture is exactly what we have. Thanks for the info.

I don't know if I should be happy that we identified another creature living in our tank, or dissapointed that I won't be handing out cigars on the star fish's behalf

Thanks