Ive had asterina stars for as long as ive had this tank and havent bothered me. They arent the coral eating variety so figured they'd be part of the cuc. Recently I wondered why i didn't have as much coralline as I've had in previous tanks and suspected the little buggers. I added a pair of harlequin shrimp to clean them up and bam over night it seems like all the asterinas are running for the hills(or glass). They're literally all over the glass and bunched up towards the water line. I thought this can't be a coincidence and a quick google search shows others experienced the same. So fascinating!
Asterinas scared of Harlequin Shrimp!
- Thread starter Discotu
- Start date
Agreed, this is one of the most interesting things to observe in a reef tank. Those little starfish have some incredible instincts to evade predators within moments of the shrimp hitting the water. I wonder if it's a response to the shrimp's odor. It's pretty wild to see the sheer quantity of them when they flee to the water line en masse.
