Chocolate Chip, Linkia, Harlequin Shrimp

[c1rusx02]

will a CC starfish eat my snails and hermits? I want to get a harlequin shrimp.
would a linkia starfish be a better idea?

 

[dallassvt]

Originally Posted by C1RUSx02
http:///forum/post/2649972
will a CC starfish eat my snails and hermits? I want to get a harlequin shrimp.
would a linkia starfish be a better idea?

If I remember correctly, Harlequin Shrimp ONLY eat Starfish!
Dallas

 

[michaeltx]

CC stars are opertunistic feeders and will eat anything they come across including corals.
as mentioned harlequin shrimp eat the legs off stars as there main diet so no starfish would be safe from them but they will need a star or 2 in the tank to live.
Linkias are very delicate and needs lot of stability and live rock to have any chance of survival. so more on your tank will be needed before someone can say yeah get a linkia or no you really arent setup for one.
HTH
Mike

 

[c1rusx02]

i have a 55 G
about 90-100 LBS of LR
1 false perc (4 years now)
2 green chromis
assorted snails about 10 total (astrea, turbo, cerith, nassarius)
10 hermits
1 three stripe damsel i'm going to get rid of coz he keeps attacking my chromis
just got rid of my snowflake which i had fo 2 years, bought him 6 inches long and sold him at 18 inches long, however i trained him to only eat frozen algae pellets so he left my hermits and snails alone
water parameters are perfect

 

[c1rusx02]

btw i'm only getting the starfish to feed the harlequin shrimp.
thinking CC would be a better idea coz linkia die easily....

 

[alexmir]

linkias would be very expensive, the shrimp are probably going to go through a starfish every couple of weeks, i would make sure this is a VERY VERY stable system, because the starfish will be dying slowly, putting ammonia into the water. The shrimp will eat it very slowly, so it is going to be leeching into the system constantly.

 

[michaeltx]

i would actually see if you can find feeder stars some places sell them real cheap they are just dull ordinary stars if you add a CC then the shrimp could just take a leg and let the star loose to reginerate if they do this the tank corals, snails, and crabs are at risk. you can also check online for those stars aswell.
Mike

 

[c1rusx02]

thanks

 

[jwagne267]

I never had a linkia or harlequin, but I want one in the future and I am waiting for my system to age. I know some people that have 2 harlequin and 5 linkia. The Harlequin rarley eat a lot of one starfish at a time. I don't know if they do it on purpose or if its just a luck thing. But there system has been around for at least a year and a half now and they still have their original 5 starfish. Its as if the harlequin shrimp are tending to their herd, making sure they stay around.

 

[tizzo]

A person in our local reef club just posted info on this very topic.
Here's what she wrote...
(just for anyone who doesn't know about keeping them)
I have a Harlequin shrimp (Hymenocera picta). This shrimp is large (~ 2 or so inches) and is absolutely beautiful.

It has special feeding requirements; he feeds solely on the tube feet of Echinoderms in the Starfish family, and therefore is not an easy shrimp to keep in captivity. I feed him one Chocolate Chip Star Fish (Protoreaster nodosus) about every three - four weeks. This seems to keep him very healthy and full. They say they eat only the tube feet; well this little guy eats the whole thing! I still have a chocolate chip for him so feeding for the next month would not be an issue.

– he is a great conversation and fun to watch.

 

[keri]

Am I the only one who thinks something that just eats the feet off of something else, slowly over a month, is icky?
and also: you fed your snowflake eel algae pellets?
beautiful shrimp pics tho....

 

[tizzo]

Well, I was watching one of those ocean shows and it showed 2 HS's working together to flip the star onto it's back, otherwise the star can protect itself.
Putting in just one star, you may have to put it in upside down.
But yes, it's pretty nasty. I couldn't do it.