asterina control

[lumpy]

So I've aquired a few asterina starfish with my live rock. And with time I've noticed a few more. Nothing to indicate a problem yet. That having been said I've done enough reeding to have learned that these little guys can become a problem. What is a good way to keep them under control. I read about Harlequin shrimp; however, I have an urchin I'd rather not feed them for lunch. Are there any other suggestions?

I'm also looking for a nice reef safe starfish or two to replace them with as I like starfish. I don't have much of a sand bed though so one of the sand sifters doesnt seam like a good idea. Anyone want to recommend a specific kind?

 

[ErinCahir]

Serpent stars are the best idea in a young reef.

And I think most of us control the asterinas by just pulling out the ones we see. Or at least that's what I do.

 

[bjohanson1234]

+1 erin. Getting a harlequin for them is overkill. You would either need to find a home for it, or buy another starfish to feed to it on a regular basis. I don't think anything else is know to eat them, so the only course of action would to be manual removal.

 

[Salty B]

Agree...manual removal is best especially if there are only a few. I was under the assumption that they were a harmless member of the CUC based on the word of several experienced reefers. So I ended up with several 100's of them and some got big as a dime and turned from white to a tan/brown. Then my softies got attacked by the big ones. In one night I removed 60-70 small white ones and a dozen big tan ones but the next day you couldn't even tell I took any out. Then I got a harlequin. The coolest most awesome little tank buddy ever! In 2 months he wiped out all of those little devil spawn stars.
I have pics of the big stars and even have some pics of them cutting down kenya trees. A couple vids of my harley too....I'll put them up in a little while.