Good or bad star?

[kchristensen8064]

I found this guy traveling around on my live rock today. Is it a good one or a bad one?

https://vault.myvzw.com/webcs/app/share/invite/HOeFWe1YUD

 

[JuanGutz]

Looks like astrenia or whatever harmless but some people don’t like them.

 

[kchristensen8064]

Are these the ones that like to go crazy and over populate and on occasion eat corals though?

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Are these the ones that like to go crazy and over populate and on occasion eat corals though?

The eating coral thing is debatable at best.

 

[kchristensen8064]

I gotcha, but from tanks I've seen they do tend to get a little out of hand population wise don't they? The color on this one is what had me questioning if it was a astrenia or not. I don't remember seeing one this color.

 

[SynDen]

I gotcha, but from tanks I've seen they do tend to get a little out of hand population wise don't they? The color on this one is what had me questioning if it was a astrenia or not. I don't remember seeing one this color.

Ive had them for years. mostly dont see them till the lights go out. They dont get big and never had any issue with them. When I first had a few show up, their population gradually increased, and for a time there was a ton of them on the glass once the lights went out. But their numbers balanced out over time, likely because the population reached the limits to available food

 

[kchristensen8064]

Ah okay, that makes sense. I pulled it out anyway just to be safe. Does anybody want him? Lol

 

[jda123]

They do eat massive amounts of film algae. I have had thousands and thousands of them in my tanks before with no harm done. It took a pair of Harlequin Shrimp over two years to eat them all. The algae became more noticeable as the dwindled and I had to buy more snails.

I would keep them. I think that they are a good part of a reef tank.