Another ID Needed - Starfish

aquawolf · 01-19-2008, 07:34 PM

Since I was finally able to get a positive id on the Kracken, now it is time to move onto something else... starfish.

I have a whole lot of starfish in my 75 gallon reef. Most are small white ones that split themselves all the time and I figured that these are Asterinas and am not really worried about them.

But I now have some others that may just be over grown adult Asterinas, or something totally different. I usually see these just before it is time for the lights to go out and they are almost always on the glass. I do not think they are coral munchers, or at least not zoanthid eaters as my rics and zoos are thriving.

Here is a close up shot of the star in question:

Do any of you have a positive id for this critter?

LadyReefNeck · 01-19-2008, 07:57 PM

Looks like an asternia to me. We have both the whitish and bluish/green ones in our tanks too. I find the blue/green ones mainly around the green zoas or on green algae areas. The white ones I usually find on the glass or coraline covered areas of the rock. (just my experience and 2 cents)

Jnicho · 01-19-2008, 08:10 PM

Looks like a variety of asternia to me too...I have a bunch of the green in my tank...never seen 'em do any damage.

Fat Tony · 01-19-2008, 08:19 PM

i think fly guy may have had an issue with the stars eating Zoo colonies... do a search for asterina and see what you come up with

JY13131 · 01-19-2008, 08:23 PM

I would love to see pics of the bad ones

Fat Tony · 01-19-2008, 08:29 PM

they looks the same as the good ones... you just have to notice where they like to hang out to know if they are bad or good... if they are always on the glass... chances are they are algae grazers, but if you are consistently seeing them on or very near your coral... they are munchers and need immediate attention and disposal

aquawolf · 01-19-2008, 09:03 PM

The 2 I grabbed out of the tank for their photo session came off the glass and that is where I almost always see them. I have yet to see any around my zoanthids at all. I think at this point they are safe, but was just curious about the different color.

Thank you everyone for the assist.

crvz · 01-19-2008, 10:14 PM

The limited experience I've had with asterina is that they're not very symmetric... and usually have more arms. I'm sure that doesnt help much at all, but it's not the usualy asterina that I see in my tank.

ScruffyRubicon · 01-19-2008, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crvz

The limited experience I've had with asterina is that they're not very symmetric... and usually have more arms. I'm sure that doesnt help much at all, but it's not the usualy asterina that I see in my tank.

I would have to agree! After pulling close to 300 out of my tank, they are not that symetrical. Some have as few as 2 arms and as many as 7.

aquawolf · 01-19-2008, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScruffyRubicon

I would have to agree! After pulling close to 300 out of my tank, they are not that symetrical. Some have as few as 2 arms and as many as 7.

Yes, my little white ones are always in various stages of a split. I do believe 7 arms may be the max for one, but it is rare to find any that are fully armed so to speak.

The one in the picture could fit on a dime and not have much room left at all. I am trying to find one of my other ones that is actually brown in color and closer to the size of a quarter.

This is getting to be very interesting.

aquawolf · 01-20-2008, 09:28 AM

I was able to get a couple of new shots this morning while the actinics were on. The first thing I found is that I really need a tripod and a better camera. With that said, here are the new pictures.

That is a close up shot of one of the gray/green ones that I asked about in the beginning of the thread.

That is a shot of one of the Asterinas, I had a whole lot of them on the front glass this morning. This one has 6 legs in various stages of growth.

I wanted to get a picture of some of the ones with only 2 legs and such, but the glass where they were sitting was too dirty. They were still working on eating the film algae for me.