Harlequin Shrimp advise

[surfjeepzx]

Has anyone had or have a harlequin shrimp in their tank? If so, are they reef safe? I have a starfish problem that I'm taking care of but I need to enlist the services of Mr. Harlequin to get the ones I can't see.


I've read the bio on the shrimp on Marine Depot but would like opinions/observations from the forum. I have mostly sps, a couple softies, the usual assortment of a Yellow Tang, Hippo Tang, Six Line Wrasse, Neon Dottyback, Clown Goby, Cleaner Shrimp, Snails and crabs, Mated pair of clowns and anemone.

This is a pic of the little guy.
<img src="http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/marinedepotlive_1961_4755373">

Thanks

 

[stugray]

I have used one before to rid my tank of asterinas. It worked perfectly. However once you see it out hunting, you have to feed it more starfish.

Mine cleaned out the tank of asterinas ( 125Gal ) in about a month. After that I fed it Chocolate chip star legs. I would buy 1 CC star & freeze it. I would feed one or two legs a week.

The Harlequin shrimp lasted almost a year this way. I dont know what their lifespan is....

I would advise against getting one unless the thought of buying a perfectly good CC star and sticking it in the freezer is ok with you. I felt guilty....

Stu

 

[pnsnowboard]

i just leave the cc star in the sump and put it n the display give it to the harliquin for an hour or so then just take the cc star away from the shrimp and put it back in the sump it you buy two or three you can rotate them because starfish can regenrate their arms

 

[ScarabRa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10785773#post10785773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pnsnowboard
i just leave the cc star in the sump and put it n the display give it to the harliquin for an hour or so then just take the cc star away from the shrimp and put it back in the sump it you buy two or three you can rotate them because starfish can regenrate their arms

NICE IDEA,

Its my understanding that they ONLY eat starfish tube feet, so that would make them "Reef Safe", but I have not owned one personally yet. I had a really nice Pseudochromis aldabraensis for several years, and dident want to chance giving him an expensive dinner.

 

[Julio]

or you can just cut a piece of the star off and feed them that way rather than constantly pulling the star in and out of the tank.

 

[dhoward80]

A pig like that, you wanna eat slow...

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

It's got to be one of the most strange specialized diets I have ever heard about.

 

[Fishbulb2]

Completely reef safe and typically in high demand. It will be easy to pass him off to another reefer when you no longer need him. Get a couple CC starfish to sustain him once your asterias are gone. Holding onto the shrimp for those extra months will ensure no astrias starfish are hiding out. Good luck. My understanding is that the harlequin with QUICKLY pulverize your astria population.

 

[justinl]

most accounts Ive heard say the harlequins will only eat the tube feet but there have been a few cases where the shrimp actually ate the entire leg of a star. maybe it was underfed? i dont know.

the sump idea holdinh stars to be cut is a good one at any rate. you'll need a few stars to keep up with the shrimp and allow the stars to regenerate though. I personally dont see the point in freezing a live star to feed. live is always better than frozen.

 

[AquaReeferMan]

My Harlequin shrimp eat 2 Choc Chip stars a month. They eat everything. Nothing gets left behind. It usually takes them a week to eat it. They are awesome. By far my favorite invert. I usually buy 2 stars at a time. One gets tossed in to get eaten, the other hangs out in my sump till theyre hungry again. I got them to kill off my asterina population. They did a great job at it. If you can handle feeding them, go for it.

 

[surfjeepzx]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Chad Vossen]

how quickly does the legs grow back if you harvest the starfish's legs?

 

[PrivateJoker64]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10791037#post10791037 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dhoward80
A pig like that, you wanna eat slow...

LOL!
Apparently, I'm the only one who has gotten that!
"Why does that pig have a wooden leg?"

 

[Youngsilver]

I had one in a 24 aquapod for about six months, I sold the setup, but i hear he is still alive. I was feeding him 2-3 astrina stars a week.

I read somewhere that in the wild, they will eat all of the legs off of a starfish, leaving the central disk, so that the starfish doesn't die, and can hopefully regenerate itself for a later meal

 

[SDguy]

My pair of harlequins eats an entire CC star in a week or two. They are then hungry again in another week. They eat a bit more than I was expecting, but they are worth it IMO.