hitch hikers

Sara

Reefing newb
Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and pretty new to the hobby. Well I've never even joined a forum before so I'm not too sure how it all works. I have been eyeballing my rocks checking for new things. I've noticed some clams and baby feather dusters but this morning when I was gauking I notice a little sea star crawling on one of my rocks. I'm kind of worried because I don't know if it's safe for my tank or not. Does anyone know anything about sea star hitch hikers? Thanks everyone!

Sara
 
Some can be bad and some are good. What does it look like? Can you get a pic? Does it's legs move it around or does it have suction cups under its legs? Does it have spikes on the legs or smooth? BTW welcome to the site.
 
hi and welcome Sara..well , theres a debate if stars are safe or not..they are known to nip at corals, when they starve..a good reef safe star are the serpent stars..and also they help as cleaning crue..if your tank only has zoas (polyps)..they will be safe...if your planning on having soft corals ..just keep an eye on her..if you see her bahaving bad ..just take her out...i hope you enjoy living reefs..theres a lot of usefull articles..feel free to ask any question!!!
 
Hello and welcome. Generally, if it has six legs, most people will say to take it out (although others say they have six-legged stars that have never touched their corals).
 
Hey all,

Thank you all. I can't get a clear picture of them (there are two). They are small maybe the size of my pinky nail is the largest. They do have six legs and they are the color of my crushed coral. It was kind of funny because I was trying to "fish" the one that was moving around alot with bamboo skewers, but decided to leave it in and I could get it out next time. : ) But I'll get the one out of there. I didn't know it would feel so "calcified" does that make sense?
 
Stars do feel kinda funny.
From your discription its probably a type of Astrenia(sp?) star.Some say there bad,others say there good.I personally would just watch them.Then if you notice anything bad going on,take them out.
BTW,Welcome to the reefs.
 
I have never personally had a problem with any of those little stars. I just let them do there thing. If I were to notice them picking on something, "to the freezer it goes!"
welcome to the site
 
I agree just watch it and if it harms anything then remove, but its up to you. Good luck and let us know what happens.
 
Sounds like Asterina Stars....there is some debate if they are reef safe or not.I have them and they haven't seem to harm anything but others say they have them eating there corals.Personally,I believe they feed on the sick and dieing or the dead(scavengers).Remove or keep them...the choice is yours.

Welcome to the site,You may get more response if you post in the ''general discussion forum'' under newbie section.

Best of Luck
 
welcome to the site. Glad you have found us and joined our community. as for the stars without a picture hard to tell which one they are. I agree with others at this time, until you identify them, just watch um and enjoy them. they are great scavengers.
 
Okay, I'll leave them in and try and keep an eye on them. They are so damn small. We'll see what happens. Thanks everyone, I panicked because I know a lot of them are bad for reefs.
 
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