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Red starfish eating goniopora corals
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 9:40 pm
by brixo
I caught my fromia indica stuck to my goniopora and figured it might be trying to feed on it, so I removed it. A few days later, it was back at it, tightly wrapped around the goni. After removing it again, I noticed a V-shaped patch missing polyps and some holes in the rock where I assume the polyps got pulled out. Has anyone else dealt with this issue?
(I'm keeping the star, though - it's been doing a great job of controlling my syconoid and other unwanted sponges.)
Re: Red starfish eating goniopora corals
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 10:44 pm
by coralfox
My starfish was a coral killer - I lost a hammer to it in just one night, and my beautiful frogspawn didn't stand a chance either, I caught it in the act and the damage was too severe to save it. I had to banish it to the sump after that. If you're not careful, it'll take out more of your corals, mark my words.
Re: Red starfish eating goniopora corals
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 11:44 pm
by brixo
coralfox wrote: ↑Thu Feb 06, 2025 10:44 pm
My starfish was a coral killer - I lost a hammer to it in just one night, and my beautiful frogspawn didn't stand a chance either, I caught it in the act and the damage was too severe to save it. I had to banish it to the sump after that. If you're not careful, it'll take out more of your corals, mark my words.
That's awful. What kind of star is it?
I had to move my goniopora to a tall acrylic table to keep it out of reach. Luckily, my lobophyllia hemprichii has been left alone and it doesn't bother the soft corals in my tank.
Re: Red starfish eating goniopora corals
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2025 1:19 am
by felinxo
I've seen it time and again, just because it's listed as reef safe doesn't mean it'll play nice in every tank. Some stars get a little too hungry, I guess. Maybe it's just not getting enough to eat and is looking for a snack, which in this case is your poor goni.