Harlequin shrimp feeding question
- Thread starter Tennyson
- Start date
charlesr1958
New member
Three weeks is about as long as I would go between feedings.
Chuck
Chuck
Tennyson
Active member
chopping off the arm of a chocolate chip star is actually alot harder than what it would seem like.
They are much harder than what you'd expect them to be! first I thought a plastic knife would cut through it, thinking it would be soft, I was completely wrong.
But I ended up using my dad's giant blade to cut it off. and it makes me feel really bad that I have to put so much pressure onto the knife to cut the star, thinking of how much it hurts the star to be crushed against the table where i cut it. but its back to normal in like 20 minutes.
And I don't acclimate my stars when I put them into the tank, they're ok with it, until they're attacked and eated
They are much harder than what you'd expect them to be! first I thought a plastic knife would cut through it, thinking it would be soft, I was completely wrong.
But I ended up using my dad's giant blade to cut it off. and it makes me feel really bad that I have to put so much pressure onto the knife to cut the star, thinking of how much it hurts the star to be crushed against the table where i cut it. but its back to normal in like 20 minutes.
And I don't acclimate my stars when I put them into the tank, they're ok with it, until they're attacked and eated
Tennyson
Active member
while i was looking for the article, I did find a site with like 50 videos of harlequin shrimps, each video is like on a certain part of the shrimp like the antennae, pinchers ect. and there are alot of videos on how they feed on stars, and how they attack them and stuff. check it out, i never knew someone would take so many videos of one shrimp.
http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfootage/Harlequin_Shrimp.
http://www.oceanfootage.com/stockfootage/Harlequin_Shrimp.
Neat videos! I find it interesting that the harlequin shrimp is eating the starfish even without flipping it over. As long as a part of the starfish isn't attached to the rock, the harlequin is eating away. Sadistic little guy 
Do you guys know if the starfish gets totally eaten or does the shrimp leave pieces that it doesn't want to eat? Thinking about getting a shrimp since I'm seeing a growth in my asterina population but not sure how much of a hassle it'd be to feed the little guy choco chip starfish later on.
Do you guys know if the starfish gets totally eaten or does the shrimp leave pieces that it doesn't want to eat? Thinking about getting a shrimp since I'm seeing a growth in my asterina population but not sure how much of a hassle it'd be to feed the little guy choco chip starfish later on.
sdietz2469
stickhead n chalice freak
well guys i have 120 that had literally millions of astreas in it, and i thought, heck he will never be able to eat all of those, they will reproduce way to fast for himm to keep up, well 2 months later, my harleqin is almost tripple size, and i cant find any astreas in my tank... so i am a little surprised at how fast he ate them... now i am going to trade him to my buddy for his linka, and is going to let him eat away in his tank......
shane
shane
charlesr1958
New member
Once thawed out, yes.
Chuck
Chuck
Tennyson
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13006597#post13006597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KellyPug
Neat videos! I find it interesting that the harlequin shrimp is eating the starfish even without flipping it over. As long as a part of the starfish isn't attached to the rock, the harlequin is eating away. Sadistic little guy
Do you guys know if the starfish gets totally eaten or does the shrimp leave pieces that it doesn't want to eat? Thinking about getting a shrimp since I'm seeing a growth in my asterina population but not sure how much of a hassle it'd be to feed the little guy choco chip starfish later on.
Umm, I do kind of notice that in the area where my harley eats it's starfish, there are like these white pebbles everywhere. I think they are the remains of the starfish since they're only there. My harlequin doesnt eat them. so they leave some leftovers.
R_Hudson
Just having fun
i have a serious asterina problem in my 30gal. it really didnt bother me until this morning when i got up and half of my tubbs blues zoas were eaten...i have returned with a harlequin from LFS wanted one for a while the owner of the store whom i know and trust told me that once my asterinas are gone should take a couple weeks i have around 75 or so, that i can just drop a choc. chip star in the tank once a month and that will suffice. he has had 2 in the store since march and he feeds both 1 star every month. and i figure for 8 bucks i can afford that..
CraigSlice
New member
are these shrimp completely reef safe (unless ur a star)? This is the first time ive heard of them, and if they are, im going to start researching them, and maybe down the road get one. Are they fine with other shrimp and what not?
Tennyson
Active member
YES!!! I finally got money! I can buy stuff now (cuz before I owed my parents a ton of $$$) I want to buy a mate for my harlequin. Mine's a female, If I got a male, would they pair up? Or would that not work out?
A pair would look beyond awesome
And how big do harlequin's get? Mine's been eating tons of starfish that I feed one after another, and i've noticed its getting a stronger appetite, and its size has increased alot in a month. Its about around 2 to 2.25 inches now.
A pair would look beyond awesome
And how big do harlequin's get? Mine's been eating tons of starfish that I feed one after another, and i've noticed its getting a stronger appetite, and its size has increased alot in a month. Its about around 2 to 2.25 inches now.
R_Hudson
Just having fun
I got my harlequin on sat. and so far I can't tell that she is touching any of my asterina stars plus she stays hidden behind or under the rockwork...is this because she is still adapting or is something wrong I would hate to kill this beautiful expensive creature...should I get a star and stick in there or just wait and see what happens any advice
rob1991
Active member
why not instead of feeding a whole star fish once a month or once evry 3 weeks, do this.
get 4 or 5 chocolate chip stars so your looking at spending 32 to 40 bucks in one shot, put them into the sump, and once a week chop off a leg for them to eat. so in a month 4 of the stars will be missing a leg. one will be whole, then once ll are missing one leg go back to the first and chop a different leg off, in theory the legs should grow back by the time its gone hopefulyl, but idk i am no expert on this.
get 4 or 5 chocolate chip stars so your looking at spending 32 to 40 bucks in one shot, put them into the sump, and once a week chop off a leg for them to eat. so in a month 4 of the stars will be missing a leg. one will be whole, then once ll are missing one leg go back to the first and chop a different leg off, in theory the legs should grow back by the time its gone hopefulyl, but idk i am no expert on this.
