Harlequin shrimp?

[gharner]

so, harlequin shrimp have a specialized diet of starfish. how much do they need to be fed per week? can they live off of the small hitchhiker stars (asteria stars)?

 

[ninjamini]

I have not ever had one but I want one and have read on them. Then need a CC star every 2-4 weeks. As soon as it hits the water they run to it flip it over and stunn it. Then they hold it there for the weeks and they will even feed it.

 

[snakeblitz33]

bingo. Yup, You need to feed chocolate chip starfish. They should only be about $5.99+tax depending on your LFS and location.
Really fun little critters. No, they can not survive off of the tiny little asterina starfish. I wouldn't recommend it unless you had an outbreak/problem with too many asterinas.

 

[afnaeguy1892]

I have a species only tank for my Harlequin shrimp. Pretty cool little guys. They love CC starfish but they will eat asteria stars as an appitizer. You really only need to put a new starfish in for food when you have seen the other one completely gone. This is usually around the 3-4 week mark. The Harlequin will start by fliping over the star and then stunning it as mentioned above. Then it will start the eat the little tentacles of the starfish and then will eat the legs. Depending on how small your Harlequin is and how slow he eats, you might actally see some regeneration of the starfish. It is pretty cool to watch. The main disk is the last thing the harlequin will eat and he will eat it fully. They are really cool and a lot of fun to watch. Good luck on your new adventure.

 

[gharner]

yeah, i had only a few of those tiny stars in my 12 gallon......now i have alot more. ive heard of ppl ripping off the legs of cc stars and feeding them to the shrimp and allowing the star to regenerate its leg in another tank. does that work?

 

[turtlegirl933]

I've heard it works

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by gharner
so, harlequin shrimp have a specialized diet of starfish. how much do they need to be fed per week? can they live off of the small hitchhiker stars (asteria stars)?
Yes, they can be fed Asterina and this is BY FAR the best thing to do to keep them, IMO, because it is exceedingly easy to propagate Asterina.

 

[ninjamini]

Originally Posted by ophiura
Yes, they can be fed Asterina and this is BY FAR the best thing to do to keep them, IMO, because it is exceedingly easy to propagate Asterina.

Do you have a link on how to do it in sufficient numbers to keep a pair of harlequins happy.

 

[ophiura]

Nope, afraid not. But since they can easily be propagated in a refugium - and I mean you can cut them in half yourself to speed up the reproduction - I would think you could keep it going pretty well.