Let's talk about Harlequin shrimp

Oops. Smaller pic,if I did it right. And if anyone has any nuisance stars they want to get rid of for the cost of shipping let me know please! Thanks.
 

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Im thinking of having a pair in my reef tank... would the consumption of the starfish foul the water?
 
Which stars EXACTLY do they eat?

Which stars EXACTLY do they eat?

I have a yellow lankia, green brittle and sand sifting starfish, but my tank is over run with astrenia... Which creatures will a Harlequin eat?

Thanks,
Ben
 
Wow that's strange they eat that much. According to other stories I've read about harlequins their diet consists of 10 - 15 asterinas a week, not hundreds. I read one person that said they had a harlequin for 8 months and they still have an abundance of asterinas for it to feed on. They indicated the asterina populations don't ever get depleted after 8 months and still going.

You must have a really hungry harlequin!
 
bdare said:
I have a yellow lankia, green brittle and sand sifting starfish, but my tank is over run with astrenia... Which creatures will a Harlequin eat?

Thanks,
Ben
Click to expand...

the astrenia for sure and the sand sifting star probably. NO on the green brittle star... for sure.
 
travis32 said:
Wow that's strange they eat that much. According to other stories I've read about harlequins their diet consists of 10 - 15 asterinas a week, not hundreds. I read one person that said they had a harlequin for 8 months and they still have an abundance of asterinas for it to feed on. They indicated the asterina populations don't ever get depleted after 8 months and still going.
Click to expand...


This is hard to say for all situations because of tank size/shape, size of asterina stars in the tank and the size of the harley.

All of these a major factors on how many star will be eaten. i can say for a 100% fact that ive seen a harley eat 3, size of a pencil eraser head, stars in one day. most adult harlequins can eat, on average, 1 star the size of a dime or a little less a day.

tank size/shape has a lot to do with the amount of stars eaten because of the ablity to catch the stars. if the tank has clean glass it is hard and unlikely that a harlequin will swim up to the top of a tall tank to get a star.

current also plays a roll because of their fragileness. harleys are dumb and wont put themselves in high current areas to risk getting hurt of blown from their footing. SO in a high current tank they are more likely to wait for the stars to come to them or with in safe catching distance.

*sorry if it sound like im picking on u "Travis32" im really not trying to be mean. just trying to tell everyone some info.
 
gkaquatic said:
the astrenia for sure and the sand sifting star probably. NO on the green brittle star... for sure.
Click to expand...

Mine almost completely cut off the leg of my sand sifting star. I thought he'd be safe in the deep sand bed, but he caught him when he came up at night. Harlequins catch stars that freeze when touched so only fast moving species are safe, brittle stars and serpent stars. Chocolate chip and Linckia are their favorites I'm told. Mine didn't care for the CC much but loved the sandsifter. I'm really interested in anyone's stories about their harley eating frozen stars. Please post the results if you've tried it. thanks.
 
gkaquatic said:
4. lastly I have heard of freezing legs and thawing them before feeding method, it can be done but two things come into play... First the leg is not alive so any part of the leg not consumed by the harlequin within a day or two WILL begin to rot. it takes a harlequin a few days at least even at full adults let alone when they are smaller. Second the harlequin from what ive read has to learn to take the once frozen no longer alive leg. in most cases a harly will not take one right off the bat. So in my opinion this way would not work out as nicely as you may think but maybe over time. better off sticking to the live legs, if u dont have the time to make this method work.

but if u wanted to try this, i might myself just to see what goes on, cut up a Small chip star and try that. the small legs will be eatn faster and have less potential of rotting.
* if anyone trys this method post on it Please! would like to see what happens. this way would cut down on one extra tank or thing to take care of, if it works.

hope this all helps!
Click to expand...

Nice thread and thanks for all the good advice gk.

I got a harley from my LFS yesterday and since they only had linkia stars in stock at the moment i got one that didnt look all to nice for free to feed with.

I immediately put it in the freezer and today i broke off the tip of one of the legs and thawed with aquariumwater. The harley took it instantly and is now happily chewing away on it. :)

One of the crapcrabs that i havent managed to get out of my tank yet is sitting just under the harley while its eating... Looks like it wants food but doesnt dare challenge the harley..? Is this something to worry about when and if a crab gets big enough to gather up the guts to challenge?
 
adddo said:
One of the crapcrabs that i havent managed to get out of my tank yet is sitting just under the harley while its eating... Looks like it wants food but doesnt dare challenge the harley..? Is this something to worry about when and if a crab gets big enough to gather up the guts to challenge?
Click to expand...

THANKS!!

and as for the crab does it have pointed claw tip or rounded like a emerald crabs?? if they are pointed i would be worried since a harlequin have very little defense. *in my opinion unless u like the crab get it out even if it has rounded claws. could put it in another tank.
 
O and totally forgot GREAT NEWS "ADDDO" on your harley taken a frozen piece of star. and what a steal on getting a free linkia!!!
 
Who says harlequin shrimps dont eat serpent star! I just got a serpent star yesterday but some of its leg got damaged and wasnt really moving... Harlequin left the chocolate starfish and jumped on the serpent right away eating it.

Funny thing is the Serpent is actually releasing sperm or egg atm, I guess its a last desperate attempt to reproduce?

Pictures to come later!
 
i could see this happening on a injured or dieing serpent star because they would be MUCH easier to tangle with, but i dont think on a healthy one. ive tried feeding large and small micro bristle stars to the harlequin at my work and they wont even touch them.

but i would love to see the picture!!!
 
here is the pair i just picked up for my 30g reef. They are awesome picked them up for $40 together from a good friend of mine. So here are two pics of them and one of their tank.
hshrimp2.jpg

hshrimp.jpg

hshrimptank.jpg
 
MIGHTTT want to keep an eye on that chalk bass with them!

they look awesome though!! im looking for a good pair at the moment.
 
so far the bass have no interest in them but i was already keeping any eye on them thanks for looking out gkaquatic.
-Adam
 
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