asterina stars eating zoas?

[christyf5]

So my nano is full of zoas and I've been picking asterinas daily (maybe its just one asterina that keeps going back for more) off one frag of zoas. The zoas look fine albeit ****ed that an asterina is sitting on them and then one day they're just gone. Currently I have 2 polyps of their little buffet left on the frag and am actively removing the stars completely when i can. Do these zoas have something about them that the asterinas like (ie, they're on their way out?) or are the asterinas just hungry for flesh (theres no "edible" algae in the tank, and when I say "edible" I mean there's a big path of turf algae that nobody wants, lol).

[Coasting]

Im convinced they eat zoas. No matter their type.
Most people say the zoas are probably dying which is why the stars are munching on them.
But i have hundreds of these stars in my tank and they dont touch any corals i own. But when i kept zoas i too would find them on the zoa then the zoas gone by morning. I always see my stars hanging around patches of glass that have i missed with the algae magnet.

[Skimmer Juice]

I also believe they eat zoa's , was having issues wih small 1-2 polyp zoa frags disappearing and I would always find asterinas on the plugs . Got a harlequin shrimp and now I no longer have the problem. Mind you I still feed my shrimp legs but he steady eats the asterinas in between feedings . Also have both colors of asterina's brown and white and they both are found on zoa frags .

[Slyguy00]

They deffinitly eat zoas. I have to pick them off my Colonies on a regular basis. If I don't the colony will slowly die off.

[christyf5]

the thing is these zoas look fine. I mean they're fully extended, happy and healthy looking. Next thing I see an asterina sitting on them. I pull it off and they're all closed up and pinchy. Then another asterina gets on them. Next thing they're little stubs and they melt away (or get eaten overnight). Effing asterinas. Guess I'll be hand picking them out. I don't think this frag is long for this world, one is super pinchy today and the one next to it isn't thrilled about Tuesday. Grr!

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Coasting

Im convinced they eat zoas. No matter their type.
Most people say the zoas are probably dying which is why the stars are munching on them.
But i have hundreds of these stars in my tank and they dont touch any corals i own. But when i kept zoas i too would find them on the zoa then the zoas gone by morning. I always see my stars hanging around patches of glass that have i missed with the algae magnet.

I have like a bazillion in my 180 gal. But no zoas in there so they just eat algae, which I thought was their deal. Guess if something better than algae comes along they jump on it like a fat kid on a smartie

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Slyguy00

They deffinitly eat zoas. I have to pick them off my Colonies on a regular basis. If I don't the colony will slowly die off.

Good to know. I'll get pickin!

Thanks for the info guys! I hate the little buggers anyways but now I hate them even more!

[Slyguy00]

The starfish could just be taking advantage of an already injured zoa. If you have a large amphipod population they will eat zoas (mostly at night) and then the starfish will roll up and hit the exposed flesh. At least from my experience. They are both a predator for zoas as far as I'm concerned. Best way to tell is take a look with a flashlight after the lights have been off for a few hours. Solution = shrimp and wrasses.

[reefwithareefer]

Bumblebee/striped harlequin shrimp eat Asterina, but unlike Harlequins, they are not obligate sea star eaters and will apparently eat frozen food. This way, you do not have to worry about them starving, once all the stars are eaten. I started to look for some last week, so if anyone knows where to get some......

[monocus]

got a bunch if you need them