Small white starfish???

[jpgraft]

In the last couple of weeks I have noticed several very small (1/4 - 3/4 inch) white starfish looking creatures in my reef tank. They have five legs, and look exactly like tiny Serpent Stars...only completely white. What are these, and do I want them?

Thanks!!!

 

[mogurnda]

They're small brittle stars. They scavenge and are another component of a healthy tank ecosystem.

 

[jpgraft]

So where did they come from??? They only appeared about three weeks ago, and at that time I only noticed one or two at any given time. Now I have several dozen. My tank has been up and running for approx. 16 months now. I used to have a brittle star, and a serpent star, but I got rid of both of them about 2 months ago when I noticed them giving some of my corals grief!!!

Thanks,

Joe

 

[mogurnda]

They probably came in with live rock or live sand. They reproduce readily in aquaria, and the population will depend on how much food (ie debris) is available.

 

[Charlesr1958]

make sure

From the sounds of it, those may not be brittle stars, if they have 5 legs and look like a classic starfish, get rid of em, if their legs are very long and skinny, then they are okay, Having collected everything from the wild, I get all the good stuff along with all the bad stuff also, and one of them is white with sometimes brown patched starfish who love to eat sps corals, also keep an eye out for a white fuzzy nudibranch which can mow through sps in no time.