# Hello, I am new to this whole thing!



## MelissaB (Nov 13, 2011)

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and to the salt water tank thing. I have a question that may be basic for most of you.

We have had our set up for a couple of months now. We have alot of growth that we are new to also. My question is, is it possible to grow starfish? Am i loosing my mind? We have spotted maybe 5 tiny starfish looking things on our glass and today we came home and there is a larger one that is for sure a starfish. We have never had a starfish in our tank before so how is this possible. 

Currently we have 2 clarkii clowns, 1 wrass, 1 aero crab, a dozen snails, a dozen hermitt crabs, 2 different shrimp. Its a 65 gal tank, with a T5HO lighting. We also have coral, an aneneme (spelling is prob wrong) lots of rock and we are using live sand. 

Again I am not sure if growing starfish is good or bad given that we are doing a coral reef, or attempting to, as we just started. 

Thank you for any and all help. 

Also I can post pics if you need me to.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

MelissaB said:


> Hello everyone. I am new to this site and to the salt water tank thing. I have a question that may be basic for most of you.
> 
> We have had our set up for a couple of months now. We have alot of growth that we are new to also. My question is, is it possible to grow starfish? Am i loosing my mind? We have spotted maybe 5 tiny starfish looking things on our glass and today we came home and there is a larger one that is for sure a starfish. We have never had a starfish in our tank before so how is this possible.
> 
> ...


Asterina Starfish:
Asterina starfish, or more commonly known as Fiji starfish are generally dime sized or smaller with a large body, irregular arm length, and an irregular number of arms. They tend to hide among corals and in the crevices of the live rock during the day and can sometimes be seen clinging to the corners of the tank. This type of starfish has been shown to eat coralline algae and some corals; specifically acropora, xenia, green star polyps, zoanthids, and several types of soft leather corals. These starfish divide across the main body with two or three legs of varying lengths and multiply rapidly. Remove these starfish if they start to bother your corals.


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## MelissaB (Nov 13, 2011)

Thank you for your response. One other question.... How are we getting these?


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

they came in on your rock/coral. they are not as horrible as some of the hitch-hikers that could come into your tank so i suggest coral dips on any new coral additions.


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## MelissaB (Nov 13, 2011)

Thank you! We dont plan on adding anything else for awhile, but I will keep that in mind for when we do add more.


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