Totally agree with those sea stars. I hate calling them pest because they almost never hurt anything and are usually a free clean up crew. Also just really cute so how could anyone hate on them.
I've been watching your videos for years and still look forward to every new release😊👍 So much info and yet so soothing for the mind, greatest combo ever👍👍
I have thousands of those starfish in my 100 gallon. They are mostly in/on the sand during the day, and climb the glass at night wherever there is algae. When I scrape the glass, they don't show up there for another week. I have never seen them touch one of my corals - SPS/LPS/Soft, whatever. Can't say I've seen them go after food (the bristleworms do that), but they are generally a non-issue (unless you try to look at the tank at 3 AM and can't see through the cloud of starfish).
+1 On Asterina being bad, i have some with red dots on which munch certain zoas. There are also some with dark blue on which are just as troublesome. Not seen them eat any of my palyzoa's tho or any of my other soft corals.
Got to say having a huge asterina population isn’t a bad thing with how well they keep the tank clean. But certain ones (usually greyish black colored) will eat corals - mostly zoas ime but gsp, clove, and gorgonians are on the menu if they choose
Speaking of leathers, I rescued a tank with 3 large bushes of Green Nepatha. I want to frag it out and every small frag I make it wiggles out from rubber bands, glue, toothpicks, rivets, proton backpacks, whatever I try I can’t keep them on the plug. Any tips???
Than - Great video, love the statements on the small starfish, I have one tank that has tons of them and it does great. I have been considering spreading them to the rest of my tanks as I agree that they do a good job cleaning and haven’t touched any coral that I can see. It’s great to see a local Ohio company at the forefront of the reefing hobby. Keep up the great work. Len
I am so glad you brough these starfish up. recently set my tank back up and have been looking for them because they really do some amazing work! I keep getting huffs and puffs when asking about them. any chance you might be willing to ship some out? I'd be happy to have them!
I agree about the benefits of starfish. They often get a bad rap in reef keeping. I have many tiny starfish in all my tanks, including a jellyfish-only tank, where they serve as a cleanup crew. Along with trochus snails, these starfish are excellent cleaners. During water changes, I try not to accidentally remove any starfish. I've noticed their population fluctuates over time, even without any fish eating them. When a coral dies and algae starts taking over, that’s the only time I see starfish on corals. This, I believe, is why many reefers think starfish are eating their corals.
I've always had those starfish in my tanks, they get right up to the edge of frags and clean them up. Is there any way you could post the correct spelling of the new classification name. Thanks for your efforts.
Than, just by chance, one of the frags I ordered from you recently had one of these starfish and I randomly decided to keep it and put it in my quarantine system to observe. IME, they've never munched on my coral. May consider putting him in my display...
Even if you one day have a plague population that you want to remove, you are a single harlequin shrimp away from having none in a short amount of time.
@@tidalgardensso food for thought. Did you know the Harlequin must put off an emp or chemical that the starfish can sense. The starfish will move to the opposite side of the tank and are easily removed.
