Harlequin Shrimp

[fishfan09]

Anyonekeep them? If so how hard are they to keep and how often are you feeding a starfish? Could you cut up a star and freez it and drop pieces in or they only go for live pry?

 

[Reefdiver72]

You can use chocolate chips just keep them in your sump cut pieces of the the legs off to feed they grow back over time.

 

[adetamor]

They are easy to keep. Mine was picky and would only eat live, so cutting off the legs didn't work for me. He would go to town on a CC starfish but once it died completely, he wanted nothing to do with it. Can get expensive to keep up with.

 

[fishfan09]

I know it wont be cheap to feed him, and that doesn't bother me. How often did you feed a whole cc star?

 

[adetamor]

our shrimp was small, depending on the size of the star, maybe once every 2-4 weeks. Always go for the bigger star. Same price, and last longer. You can try talking up a deal with your LFS to order them for you. Maybe do a bulk order and keep them in a sump. Watch the stars with corals though, as they will tear it all up. We had one that was doing fine for a while, but ended up eating a nice piece of orange encrusting monti.

 

[fishfan09]

I have heard they do a number on corals and snails/crabs. Does the dead star throw nitrates out of whack, it being in the tank for so long?

 

[adetamor]

Never really noticed it affect anything. The shrimp just sits there and seems to nibble the feet on the leg. It will be long gone before you even notice it dies. Your clean up crew should take care of it once it is dead.