What can save these critters?

[Aricml]

I started my 75 gallon cycling about a month ago and one of my pieces of LR came with what appears to be a bleached mushroom hitchhiker. I've been introducing small amounts of food on the off chance it would survive the ammonia spike of cycling and I also keep my lights on 12 hours a day. The mushroom appears to be getting larger but is just intensely bleached, or so I think. What can I do to help take this critter's foot out of the grave

2med.jpg

I also have a little critter running around that looks to me like a starfish but I wanted to get a second opinion. He's about half the size of a pea and I want to know what I can do to also help this little guy as if it is a star it looks pretty beaten up to me.

3med.jpg

Sorry about the low pic quality, I'll get my nicer camera back up soon.

[Gorgok]

Asterina (or something like that) starfish appears perfectly normal. Their normal is anything but symmetrical...

[Sugar Magnolia]

I can't tell what the first pic is, too small on my cell. The second is definitely an asterina starfish.

[Fish4Me2]

Be careful with the asternia starfish. I thought the first one was cute, and the second, so I let them stay. I now siphon out 100 to 150 each weekend and they just keep coming back. I recommend taking it out now while you can, or being prepared for hundreds of them.

[zigzag1]

Originally Posted by Fish4Me2

Be careful with the asternia starfish. I thought the first one was cute, and the second, so I let them stay. I now siphon out 100 to 150 each weekend and they just keep coming back. I recommend taking it out now while you can, or being prepared for hundreds of them.

Not so much really. They are good cleanup crew members, IME. Just like many other live rock inhabitants, it really boils down to nutrient control. Their populations will self regulate based upon what is available to feed them. If you are over run with them, then you likely have a bigger problem brewing. JMTC & GL!

[Aricml]

Thanks for the ID on the starfish, I'm going to have to do some reading up on them to see if I want it out or not, it looks like people are a bit divided.

I got a better picture to try and show what is up with the mushroom as that is what I'm more concerned about. It sounds like bleached shrooms like this specimen have expelled their zooxanthellae. Do they come back from this? Can I do anything more helpful than waiting? I know its just one button sized shroom but I've taken to rooting for it to live like an underdog. Heres the new pic.

mushbig.jpg

[Ron Reefman]

I'm not sure due to picture quality, but I don't think the first pic is a star. Really hard to tell, and I wouldn't put money on it, but I don't think it is. Maybe a sponge? It does have a bit of an umberalla look... like a small nem or mushroom?? You need a better photo.

As for the star population, if you start to get hundreds of them, you can collect them and send them to me. My coris wrasse loves them. I used to have some and about 1 week after the coris wrasse went in the DT... no more little stars.

[cody6766]

If it is a mushroom, there's a good chance it will pull through the cycle. The same goes for the starfish and any other little hitchhikers you may find in there. I had a lot live through my initial cycle, including stars and shrooms.

As for star removal, I woudn't do it. I had quite a few in my tank before my wrasse cleaned them out and they never caused any trouble. They weren't even an eyesore. I'd see a few out during the day, but they came out in force and ate at night only to hide in the rock again in the morning.