harlequin shrimp

[djplace]

i bought a harlequin shrimp and i know they eat starfish but my lfs said and i read that they eat the feet of the starfish buy mine seems to be devoring my starfish. my question is will the completley eat the starfish and if so is there a way to keep them from eating the ones i want by feeding them some i dont want or something.

 

[texasmatt]

They will absolutely kill the starfish if they eat at it long enough. Not sure if you can distract them, as far as I have heard most ppl with them seem to sacrifice a coco to them to keep them busy

 

[djplace]

thanks. i have always wanted one but never got one cuz they eat stars but it is sooooo cool to see. i guess ill have to just buy it a coco when it runs out of them. i dont like coco's anyways

 

[markeo99]

they will completely eat the star and fortunately they do not let the choc chips do any damage to a reef tank they just sit on it like a lounge chair all day and eat

 

[sanchoy]

How often do these shrimps get fed? I was interested in getting one, however it appears to be costly when you have to feed it live stars. Will it eat any star?

 

[spiderwoman]

I've had a pair of Harlequin Shrimp since last fall and I feed them Fromia legs. I rotate 3-4 Fromia's in one of my tanks and catch one that is available, chop off a leg and drop that into the Harlequin tank. They eat a medium size leg in about a week or so and can go without eating another week. If you have Asterina's in your tank, Harlequin's will also eat those.

 

[greenreefer]

hey, long time no see spidey. I've been thinking about a pair for my 24 gallon. any concern's with them pooping up the place, lol, seems like their bio load might be significant. Any idea how often you might need to feed if you gave a pair a whole chocolate chip star or a sand sifting star. Will they eat brittles? Will they pair if bought individually or do they need to be purchased as a pair? Do you really need to keep in pairs?

 

[spiderwoman]

Hey GR!!!!
They won't eat anything else than meaty legged stars... Fromia, Choco, Linckia, Asterina (perfect for getting rid a Asterina problem), etc, but not Brittle stars.
The best way for me has been keeping the *food* starfish in another tank and chopping off a leg when needed. That way I don't run out of food quickly and the bioload stays low. I haven't noticed them fouling up the water at all.
You don't need to keep them in pairs, I just bought mine as a pair. I do think I've lost one of mine as I haven't seen her for a few days. I thought she was getting ready to lay eggs when she was not interested in her food.

 

[coral keeper]

If you have a large tank with good filtration, you can always hook up the little Harlequin Shrimp tank to the large tank so its going to be a lot more steady and easier to maintain. That's what I'm going to do.

 

[djplace]

i fed mine a coco star and he ate him in about 4 days and hasnt messed with my other stars but one is a bristle star the other one im not sure what kind it is but he hasnt messed with him so i figure ill get another coco tuesday and let him devor him again. 7 bucks a week aint bad for that shrimp he is hella cool lookin and a nice addition to my tank.

 

[ophiura]

It is much more cost effective (and ecologically sound, IMO) to set up a system like Spiderwoman describes. Even a sump can house CC stars that a leg can be cut off. They can be fed, and the arms should regenerate. Teh best and easiest to keep and maintain are asterina stars, which can be chopped in half (which they also do naturally).