Harlequins Coming Tomorrow:)

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fishlovr

Guest
My LFS just called and has located a pair of Harlequin shrimp for me. He said that they should arrive tomorrow if I want them. He told me that the male has purple spots and the female has orangish-pink ones. He wondered if it mattered that they weren't the same color. I said no as long as they were a mated pair......it doesn't make any difference if they are two different colors does it? I thought that way I could tell them apart:) Will get back to you all tomorrow with more info and pics if they do come in okay......
Janey
 
maryc137

maryc137

Member
You'll love those shrimp. I have one harlequin and he is so cute. Kind of hate having to feed him starfish, but that's the circle of life I guess.
 
slothy

slothy

Active Member
please do !! been looking into a pair.. but unsure about the starfish for meals deal yet
 
maryc137

maryc137

Member
I use chocolate chip starfish to feed Harley. Give him one and if possible I retrieve the starfish after 3 or 4 days and throw it back into the sump to regenerate the legs that were eaten.
 
maryc137

maryc137

Member
My understanding is that they will eat any kind of starfish. However, all mine as ever had is those little white ones that were taking over my tank when I got him, and then when those ran out I started getting chocolate chips.
 
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fishlovr

Guest
I've got a chocolate chip ready and waiting for their arrival. Hope they ship well. Going to pick them up when they come into the LFS before they acclimate them to their tank. That way they will only go through the stress of acclimation once. Do you all think a half an hour is long enough for acclimation? I want to do this right!
Janey
 
azonic

azonic

Active Member
I'd acclimated them for an hour or two. In my experience with shrimp they require long acclimations to salinity and temperature.
IME
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member
Azonic is right...An hour or two for sure! I killed my first 2 cleaners after only a 45 minute acclimation. To be safe, especially with something like that, I would go at least an hour or two. Good Luck!
 
pufferfreak

pufferfreak

Member
I saw at a lfs that they had tiny starfish like a dime size and they supposed reporduce like crazy so i recomend putting a ton of those in the tank and some in the sump to reproduce and that is alot cheaper than buying new starfish.
 
maryc137

maryc137

Member
I had a ton of those little starfish when I got the Harlequin to clean them up. He's very efficient and was out of food in a couple months. Now I have to keep feeding him unless I take him back to the LFS.
 
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fishlovr

Guest
Thanks for the tips about feeding and acclimating. My LFS can get feeder starfish in.....I plan on using those. I wonder how long it will take for them to find each other in my 58 and set up housekeeping? I'll probably wait a day or two until their settled to offer them their first meal.....sound like good strategy?
Janey
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
A few notes please.
I have written before that I find it rather unfortunate that people keep delicate species with specialized diets that eat other delicate species with poor survival records.
PLEASE, never buy Linckia,Fromia or any reef safe stars to feed to these. Very few survive, and are under intense pressure from this hobby as well as the craft and souvenir trade. I include chocolate chips in this as well. Walk into anh craft store or shell shop at the beach, and take a look at all of those dried stars, most of which are Linckia, choc chips (often with ugly dyed colors) and sand sifters.
What the heck is a "feeder starfish?" The cheapest solution (and most ecologically responsible) is to get yourself a refugium or sump, collect the small white Asterina stars that reproduce like weeds (and people are always picking them out of their tanks and tossing them)...there is a thread on these stars every week). Maybe offer to take them from people. Toss them in the refugium or sump, and let them reproduce.
Look into seeing if your shrimp will take frozen seastars, where you can cut a hunk off and feed it (but it makes the most of a star).
I do not believe they eat brittlestars, and if you don't want it, trade it in to an LFS. What kind of brittle is it?
 
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fishlovr

Guest
"Feeder" starfish are those that are missing legs or otherwise deformed according to my LFS....they are listed as being available for ordering. I will check into the asterinia stars too......thanks for the tip:)
Janey
 
bluemarlin

bluemarlin

Member
This can get touchy but its my opinion so here goes:
I find it absolutely offensive that you are using that chocolate chip starfish the way you are. You put him in the main tank so something can eat part of him and then you catch him and put him back into your sump where he can heal and then you repeat the cycle. Thats sick. I understand that things need to eat and that live creatures are eating other live creatures all the time and in my tank too but I do not think that its appropriate to treat a live creature the way you are.
There must be better ways that you can feed.
 
slothy

slothy

Active Member

Originally posted by BlueMarlin
This can get touchy but its my opinion so here goes:
I find it absolutely offensive that you are using that chocolate chip starfish the way you are. You put him in the main tank so something can eat part of him and then you catch him and put him back into your sump where he can heal and then you repeat the cycle. Thats sick. I understand that things need to eat and that live creatures are eating other live creatures all the time and in my tank too but I do not think that its appropriate to treat a live creature the way you are.
There must be better ways that you can feed.
so i take it you dont eat hamburger or chicken ?
i know i cry everytime i feed a silverside to my bubble coral :rolleyes:
 
reefsoe

reefsoe

Member
Not tryin to start an argument...
I think feeding the starfish to the shrimp is ok, its natural its what they eat. Its like keeping a snake and not feeding him a mouse.
Im sure that if these shrimp would eat something else poeple would jump all over it, but they dont. So rather then starving the shrimp feed it a star. Evolution gave the stars an uncanny ability to regen quickly, that is for a reason. Its not killing the star, and if you rotate stars they will always be fully healed.
Now if you abuse the starfish.... then i see. But its doing its job as a starfish.
Its a natural part of the ecosystem, and the "circle of life"
We all strive for natural self sustaining reef that is beautiful.
This is all part of it!
 
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