Harlequin Shrimp?'s

[CuttleKid]

Hi i'm new and have a 6 gallon tank and was wondering if i could put a pair of harlequin shrimp in there along with some dwarf seahorses? Could this be possible? I have kept larger reefs but wanted a specific aquarium for these shrimp. they are so cool. i understand that when the shrimps eats a star it fouls the water so i'm prepared to do big water changes once a mont when there being fed along with weekly smaller ones.

Any insight from people who have kept these would be great.


THANKS =)

 

[Scythanith]

I had a pair in a 5 gallon for over a year and a half. It had an aquaclear mini filter, no skimmer, and a budget heater with a small fluorescent light. They were awesome critters, very hungry! They'd decimate a 3-4" chocolate chip in 4 days. I think the only reason I lost them was infrequent water changes and spacing the feedings too far apart.

I have a new Harlequin and I feed it a leg every 5 days. We just got a call from the LFS saying that our second one is in and they will be going in a 10 gallon for them only. We will begin feeding the pair a leg overy 3-4 days once they are in the main display, with 10%-25% water changes every two weeks.

They are facinating animals and as long as you have a reliable source for food you should have no issues. I doubt they will be interested in the dwarf seahorses, but I've never tried it myself so I couldn't really say.

Also, sometimes they don't eat the entire star when they are well fed, so you should remove the left overs after 2 days or so.

Here is a good site on sexing, etc.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/harlequinshrimp.html

Hope that helps!

New one:

Old ones:

 

[Henryreef]

Beautiful PIC's Scythanith , How much does your LFS sell them for?

 

[CuttleKid]

Scythanith that helps a bunch!
Thanks for the link, it's azwesome!

 

[tmz]

I have one Hymenocera picta( harlequin shrimp) in a 120 mixed reef. I put it in there to control a burgeoning asterina starfish poulation. It did a very good job. I feed it a leg from a live chocolate starfish every week now that the asterina are all but gone. I hate cutting up the star but the shrimp is an obligate feeder and would otherwise starve. I've had it for about 6 months.

 

[Scythanith]

They aren't one of the cheaper shrimps. My LFS sells them for ~$55 for the elegans and ~$85+ for the picta (Hawaiian distributor, everything is a little more from them). Canadian currency.

 

[Henryreef]

Wow they are very expensive, but They are so beautiful, so I would say it is worth it !!

 

[oppih]

They are very beautiful

 

[jumboshrimp18]

I kept a Harlequin for about 2 years. Have to say it was really cool watching them go after a starfish. The problem is that finally it is a high maintenance animal to keep, also wasteful--in that most starfish do not import well and you end up throwing away large portions of discarded starfish--and also wreaks havoc on your nitrate levels.
Finally I froze chocolate chip starfish and fed the harlequin a piece every week--less interesting to watch but more manageable and economical.

 

[Lightsluvr]

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14241787#post14241787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jumboshrimp18
I kept a Harlequin for about 2 years. Have to say it was really cool watching them go after a starfish. The problem is that finally it is a high maintenance animal to keep, also wasteful--in that most starfish do not import well and you end up throwing away large portions of discarded starfish--and also wreaks havoc on your nitrate levels.
Finally I froze chocolate chip starfish and fed the harlequin a piece every week--less interesting to watch but more manageable and economical.

So you froze the chocolate chip star, and just cut off a piece every week or so? Did the harlequins take right to the frozen star?
Thanks for this tip.

LL