Found some new hitchhikers..star ?'s

[jen_1122]

Really hoping these guys are good, because kids have already named him/her. But looks like we have a few hitchhiking stars. I have no idea on identification, food, care. Looks like I have 3 of the ones pictured, we call Patrick stars (yes, spongebob. LOL). Hope the pic is OK, it was with my phone, first time we saw him/her. He is white in color, some gray towards the middle lightly running down the 7 legs.

But, it also seems we may have 2 more of another kind. Can't get a pic. These guys are long and stringy (named string, lol) , Really long legs, furry and fast. Kinda stripped, black and brown.

Don't know what to research, so any help in a direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bifferwine]

They are asterina stars. Most people consider them pests. They have been seen eating corals, but in my experience, they tend to eat film algae off of the rocks and glass. I don't bother taking them out of my tank, but lots of people do. It's up to you if you want to keep them or not.

 

[meshman10]

yea, I tought the same thing as you untill they took over the tank, I use to pull out 50 to 60 a day.. get a harlequin shrimp...deffently asterina..

 

[Zissou]

The long stringy kind with hairy legs are brittle stars, and they're good for your tank. The fat chubby stars with funky legs like the ones in the pic are pests, and I'd remove them if you can.

 

[reeffreak]

I've had asterina stars in the past.The majority died off naturally as the system matured.The ones I had never bothered anything except film algae.

 

[ErinCahir]

I've had asterina stars in the past.The majority died off naturally as the system matured.The ones I had never bothered anything except film algae.

It seems like people either have a serious problem with them or no problem at all...
I've seen a couple here and there since we've have our tank (18 months) but they've never reproduced to plague proportions.

 

[jen_1122]

Thanks for all the info.