Echinopora forskaliana is an uncommon species of stony coral that we’d never heard of other than seeing it in passing in Veron’s Corals of the World. But now thanks to a pair of great photographs by Andrey Ryanskiy we can…
Search Results For: red starfish
Starfishes and Other Echinoderms Book Review
Of all the highly diverse groups of animals that occur on natural reefs, the echinoderms are some of the most unique but also the least represented in our home reef aquariums. We have a basic understanding of starfish, urchins, and…
Killer Robot Hunts Down Crown of Thorns Starfish
Killer Robots may be the trope of science fiction stories and movies and there are legitimate concerns that a superhuman artificial intelligence or ‘singularity’ might be a danger in the future but today we can use them to do our…
Paracorynactis Ball Tentacle ‘Anemone’ is a Starfish Killer!
The Ball tentacle Anemone is a very unusual tropical reef cnidarian that has a more than few interesting things going for it. You would think that such an attractive critter would be a popular aquarium candidate but there are some…
What Eats the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish? The Answer is Found in Fish Poop.
Crown-of-thorn starfish are coral-eating predators that can have more than a dozen legs and grow to 30 inches across. The starfish gets its name from the toxic thorn-like spines covering its body, which resemble a biblical “crown of thorns”. In…
Aquatic Technology Also Raises Captive Bred Hawaiian Harlequin Shrimp
The Harlequin shrimp is one of the most fascinating crustaceans which is also great for even the smallest of nano reef tanks. As long as you can get past the part where they need to be fed starfish – it’s…
Watch a Crown-of-Thorns starfish get annihilated by giant snail
The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences is exploring using biological controls to help keep outbreaks of the coral-eating Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) in check on the Great Barrier Reef. Sadly, COTS and cyclones are responsible for more than half of all…
Asterina starfish, an introduction to this common reef aquarium critter
Have you ever wondered what that itsy bitsy starfish is doing in your tank? The sneaky starfish probably hitchhiked its way in on some live rock or new coral, but now there are dozens of small grayish starfish roaming your tank. It’s…
What you should know about the Crown-of-Thorns starfish
Acanthaster planci, more commonly known as the Crown-of-Thorn starfish, is a voracious predator which feeds on stony coral polyps. The starfish gets its name from the toxic thorn-like spines covering its body, which resemble a biblical “crown of thorns”. The…
COTSbot seeks and destroys invasive Crown of Thorn starfish
The Crown of Thorns starfish (COTS) has been a destructive force on reefs for years. They eat coral and reproduce like mad. Humans have been fighting this creature and now have a new robotic “terminator” helping with the cause. Researchers…
