small starfish

I have had a lot of ups and downs with my tank with it getting to it's 1 year mark.  For the most part things are doing much better.   That being said I seem to be having an out break of small starfish and they seem to be around all of the corals that are still trying to recover.  There are hundreds or even maybe thousands of them through out the tank.  

There are a ton of species of Asterina starfish...some good...some bad...and I haven't figured out a way to tell yet which is which.

I've had some blue-bodied ones going after SPS...red splotched ones eating LPS. Then, I've had similar ones just cleaning up the glass. *Sigh*

The best way I can tell the bad from the good is by the evidence left. SPS will display a jagged white line where the starfish were munching away. LPS will usually have a completely bare skeleton overnight (the starfish will cover the coral, extend its guts, and digest huge portions).

If you think they're a problem, a Harlequin shrimp is your best bet, but please be prepared to supplement its feedings (they like bigger portions that they can haul back to their cave rather than hunting constantly.)

Keep in mind that the starfish may be eating decaying tissue...or they may be eating healthy tissue. It's hard to tell.

I don't know of any other starfish-only option other than manual removal...which is nearly impossible IMO for your size tank.

And no...the harlequins will go after your other stars. If your sand sifter surfaces, the harlequin will go after it if it is not 100% full. I can drop a starfish into the tank, and the harlequin will nearly immediately know and start searching for it. They often avoid large brittle starfish as the brittle starfish don't have the freeze reaction of other starfish (most starfish freeze upon attack, which makes it easy for the shrimp to handle.)

You might get lucky, but...if there's a way to fail, it'll happen.

Fatman just lost his green brittle starfish to his harlequin. Every wild creature is different, so plan for the worst.