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6 Legged Star Fish Good, or Bad?

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meterman View Drop Down
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    Posted: March 01 2004 at 12:57pm
I received a very small star fish (1/4") on a polyp rock about a week ago.  It looks like a brittle star fish.  It has grown to about 1 1/2" in diameter in a weeks time.  I noticed that it has six legs.  I have heard that these guys are bad news for corals.  Is this true?
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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 1:02pm
It's only bad if it starts eating your coral!
But the best course of action is to just watch it and only remove it if it starts chomping! It can't eat much and is easy to catch.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jake Pehrson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 1:12pm
If it looks like a Brittle Star then most likely not going to be a coral eater, but as Mark said you need to watch it to make sure.
Jake Pehrson

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coralplanet.com

:)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Crazy Tarzan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 1:33pm

I have small 6 legged stars that are a kind or white or sandy color.  They look more like a linkia star than a brittle star, and tend to hang out conscipously around my corals...  I pull them out as often as possible.

However I do have the small brittle look stars, they only have 5 legs on them and don't seem to bother anything at all.  They get up to about 2'' across the legs.  I just leave them alone.



Edited by Crazy Tarzan
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote peregrinus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 2:50pm
They might be mini stars i have hundreds of them they seem to stay away from my corals.
Brian
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfinch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 4:15pm
If they look like tiny brittle stars I let them be.  If they look like flattened sand stars with a couple legs longer then the others I remove.  Maybe I'm throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but that's what I do.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chrisslc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 4:17pm
I think those little "sandy" six leg stars are just mini-stars too. Good cleaners from what I've heard. I have them and they seem to just move over the rocks and other non-coral surfaces, grazing slowly.
Murray, Utah just north of the park.
"It's all the same to the clam" -Shel Silverstein
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote peregrinus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 5:12pm
heres a few pics.



is this what they look like?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chrisslc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 5:52pm
mini-stars, and CrazyTarzan, notice that they are all hanging out in algae patches.
Murray, Utah just north of the park.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ssilcox Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 7:31pm

You know they look suspiciously ALOT like the coral eating starfish that garf had the article on.

http://www.garf.org/Star/starfish.html



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jake Pehrson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2004 at 9:43pm

peregrinus

These do look like predatory star fish.  I would watch them very closely.

 

Jake Pehrson

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coralplanet.com

:)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote meterman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 02 2004 at 7:51am

I actually received a 5 legged mini sand star and the small 6 legged brittle looking star.  I have not seen the small sand star since I put it in, but the brittle looking star hangs out on a small starburst polyp coral.  I will just watch closely to see if I notice any ill effects over the coming months.

2.5 Gal Minibow
Mini powerhead
Coral Life 10Watt 50/50 daylight/actinic bulb
4 Lbs tonga branch rock
6" brittle star
6 legged brittle star
Mini sand star
(3) scarlets
Misc. Polyps
Orange/Red Mushrooms

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote peregrinus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 02 2004 at 2:14pm
These have been in my tanks sence setup never seen them go after my corals. they crawl all over my live rock and glass. but i don't have SPS so maybe that the reason that i don't see them eating corals..
Brian

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2004 at 12:05pm
Originally posted by Jake Pehrson Jake Pehrson wrote:

These do look like predatory star fish.  I would watch them very closely.
I once found these first thing in the morning, eating my Xenia. I removed about 20 and never saw them in that tank again.

Edited by Mark Peterson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote peregrinus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2004 at 5:02pm
i will watch these really close from now on.. thanxs
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Will Spencer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2004 at 10:40pm

Unfortunately the worst thing about these stars is that if they do end up damaging corals, by the time you decide that it's them there are so many of them they are almost impossible to irradicate.

A friend of mine had trouble keeping Xenia and Star Polyps for a long time.  Someone told her that these stars ate star polyps so she started taking them out of her tank.  Sometimes she would take out as many as 20 or more per day.  After about a year of picking these things out she was finally able to get star polys to survive in her tank again.  Of course she still finds a few of these stars occasionally.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Crazy Tarzan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2004 at 7:29am
I pull them out about once a week.  Usually about 2-3 at a time.  However I continually find them, and they do tend to migrate towards my star polyps...  I have found the most on that rock than any other.
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