harlequin shrimp question

[satjosh]

i was thinking of getting a pair of harlequin shrimp, would they be ok with other inverts? specifically peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp, and snails.... cleaner crews i'm setting my tank soon 29 biocube and just getting ready

what kind of cleaners can i have with the harlequin shrimp,
as for fish mandarin? what do you guys think? i also have a refugium where i will keep a collection of 3 choc chip starfish and rotate them in the refugium soo i can keep an endless supply? what do the starfish eat?

thank you

 

[Tennyson]

I think Harlequin's are pretty much good with any kind of fish or invert. You should be fine with the inverts and fish you have.

 

[philter4]

They ignore any other fish or invert except for starfish. they will eat any star they can get, even serpent and brittle stars, but they prefer linkia types. I've had several since 2006 and for a while they left my red and harlequin serpent stars alone, but in a week they ate all 6 that I had even though there were chocolate chips available for them to eat.

 

[satjosh]

ok so i'm getting a mandarin, pepperment, skunk cleaner, (angel, butterfly or tang), and a pair of harlequin shrimps

thank you as for the starfish can i cut them in half and still be ok?
right? for feeding purposes now nothing should eat other haha hope so thank you again

 

[Tennyson]

You can cut the starfish in half. Although they prefer whole stars.

 

[Don-Coraleone]

how about asterinas?

 

[satjosh]

what are asterinas i was googling them and it says thay can eat sps and well i have sps and i wouldn't want to combine them and even though it is nice that they multiply quickly...... i just dont want to take the risk of eating my corals and that it also says harlequin shrimps don't really enjoy them

but thank you

 

[philter4]

They eat asterinas, if you have them you can put the harlequins in until they are gone. They may not prefer them but they eat them if you do not give them a choice. Once they are gone, start feeding them chocolate chips or what ever other stars you have available to you inexpensively.

 

[satjosh]

ok thank you for the response.....

i'm excited i can't wait to get them.

 

[revaltion131]

Just a fast comment on your fish choices, though not in relation to the harlequins. You should not have a tang or butterfly in your tank because it is just too small. If you choose an angel, stay on the smaller side of the dwarves.

 

[satjosh]

really ok thank you i was wondering about that anything in particular? do angels eat copepods? i'm hoping not cause i dont want compitition with mandarin

anything else i need to know about care for harlequin shrimp

 

[revaltion131]

As far as the shrimp go, the key thing is to make sure you understand their starfish needs (which it looks like you do) and to not stock any fish that are known to go after ornamental shrimp.

I'm sure that angels do eat 'pods' but neither of the two that I have owned have done any kind of major damage to the pod population.

 

[philter4]

Agree with revaltion131 on the angels eating pods, they do not hunt them but they are very herbivorous and just get pods as they graze algae. As far as butterfly there are several that stay small, most of the butterflies in the genus progonathoides (see my avatar for one of my faverites) stay under 4 inches.

 

[satjosh]

thank you soo much i just got my biocube 29 setting it up then start culturing now