harliquin shrimp.

[toothman]

I just purchased 3 harliquin shrimp in hopes too reduce astrea stars, mail order. Looking at them they look like a easy prey for the fish in the tank. Mostly all tangs, watanabe angel, swiss guard basslet. Any thoughts, before I release them into the tank.

 

[scooter31707]

I think the only one to worry about would be the Basslet. How big is the Basslet. I think they will be ok in a 400 gallon and depending how much rockwork you have.

 

[killinit123]

I've got two in my tank with 2 tangs a reef lobster 2 clowns and a couple other inverts.. I was worried at first as well especially with the lobster but he hasn't shown any interest at all since I put them in and that was about 5-6 months ago maybe longer. they did go through my asterina population pretty quickly and I had A LOT!! so they get fed CC stars every 2-3 weeks now

 

[Tweaked]

How big are the shrimp, and how big is the basslet? My Swalsei recently ate three sexy shrimp we added and its a small basslet too.

 

[MondoBongo]

I've got two in my tank with 2 tangs a reef lobster 2 clowns and a couple other inverts.. I was worried at first as well especially with the lobster but he hasn't shown any interest at all since I put them in and that was about 5-6 months ago maybe longer. they did go through my asterina population pretty quickly and I had A LOT!! so they get fed CC stars every 2-3 weeks now

they do eat a surprising amount. i've had mine for almost two years now. she goes through a CCS about once a week. she's big now.

 

[killinit123]

they do eat a surprising amount. i've had mine for almost two years now. she goes through a CCS about once a week. she's big now.

Yes they become somewhat of a constant expense once they go through all the asteria lol But they are beautiful.. I have a pair and its amazing how they instantly know there is food once you drop a CCS in the tank. but I could watch them for hours! mine too have grown quite a bit since I got them I'd say a little smaller than the size of a ping pong ball

 

[Big E]

Do you drop the whole star in the tank or just a leg?

Also, are you guys keeping the stars in a separate tank and can they be fed anything to keep them healthy until they become food.

 

[MondoBongo]

I drop in the whole star. I don't have another tank to keep the stars in at the moment. I've also not been able to get enough stars at on time to try just harvesting arms.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I've read that people that have the Harlequin shrimp keep about 6-8 or so Chocolate Chip Starfish in their sump and remove a leg when they feed them. Having this amount of the CCS allows time for their legs to regrow so there is a constant supply of starfish to feed them. I don't know the time of leg regrowth.

 

[MondoBongo]

I tried keeping them in the sump, but you need to make sure they can't get in to pump intakes. My skimmer and return pump were open inlet and the stars kept jamming their arms in to the inlets and getting shredded.

 

[killinit123]

I drop in the whole star. I don't have another tank to keep the stars in at the moment. I've also not been able to get enough stars at on time to try just harvesting arms.

+1 on this

I tried keeping them in the sump, but you need to make sure they can't get in to pump intakes. My skimmer and return pump were open inlet and the stars kept jamming their arms in to the inlets and getting shredded.

this is the reason i do not try and keep them in my sump as well. although I would like to try to do this at some point maybe in a small tank on their own but we will see