Little White Starfish, An Urchin, but Should a Harlequin be in the Mix? English, reading  6/13/08 Hi crew! My name is drew. (wow. i didn't mean to rhyme) I have a 28 gallon JBJ nano with HQI lighting. I have one ocellaris clown and one watchman goby and his pistol shrimp friend a damsel (well be getting rid of him soon... he didn't take care of the flatworm problem) a Firefish a cleaner shrimp a six-lined wrasse a blue tuxedo urchins an sps coral with its crab helper Ricordea Zoanthids green grassy coral various shrimp and hermit crabs. we also have pesky little white starfish that came with the live rock. One has gotten to be an inch in diameter, and we discovered that it has been eating our sps coral. <... Likely an Asterina sp.> we have a ton of the little ones and that relatively big one. I've been thinking about getting a harlequin shrimp to take care of all of those starfish. the question is...Will it eat my urchin? <Eventually, likely so> I've read that it won't likely harm all of the brittle stars in the live rock. Any help would be great. Thanks, Drew <... Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marind5_5.htm Toward the bottom... re Star Compatibility, the Genus Asterina. And fix your English before writing us again. Proper nouns and the beginnings of sentences are capitalized... RMF>

Hitchhiker...friendly or evil? Asterina Stars -- 12/30/07 Hello, <Hello, Brenda here!> I purchased my first batch of live rock yesterday for my brand new saltwater aquarium! Yippee!! <Congratulations on a very exciting adventure!> When I got it at the store, the guy helped me pick out a really good piece with a little mushroom on it and a small white starfish which I thought was pretty cool. When I got it all home and put them in, I found another, and this morning I found another! They're asymmetrical, tiny creamy colored things. I've done some research and found out that they are either carnivorous enemies that must be irradiated before they populate the entire tank and eat all of your coral, or cute, harmless algae eaters. I'd like to keep them because I like them, but if they're going to cause a problem I'd like to get rid of them earlier rather than later. Do you have any idea which one they are or how to tell? <It sounds like you have Asterina Stars.> Have you encountered this at all? <I have Asterina Stars in all of my reef tanks. I have never encountered a problem with them. I find them to be beneficial. Some have stated that they have witnessed these stars eating coral. This is rare in healthy coral. Asterina Stars are often found eating already dead tissue and are falsely accused. I would not be concerned, and would add them to my tank. More information found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm > Thanks! <You're welcome and good luck to you! Brenda>

Re: Asterina Stars -- 12/30/07 Good to hear! I have an 8g nano tank, hopefully will become a reef tank, and already I have three nice sized whitish ones and like 10 TINY bluish ones (about a cm long). <Yikes! I would remove the blue ones. My previous recommendation was for the white and tan Asterina Stars that you stated you had. I have read of instances where any pink, purple or blue Asterina stars are known to eat coral.> How quickly will they overrun my tank? <This is hard to say and will depend on available food. An 8 gallon tank is rather small, so it may happen within a few months.> When should I start plucking? <This is a personal choice. I never remove the white/tan ones. Many people do not like to have them on the glass.> Thanks so much! Tori <You're welcome! Brenda>