Let's talk about Harlequin shrimp

accordsirh22 said:
the second part of this will NEVER happen. they are obligate starfish predators. they do not have and will not have any different food source. their biology mandates that they consume starfish. the same way that parasites that are specific to one host species cannot live on another species, even if it is similar.


all for captive breeding though, not sure about a breading program, they're a bit too small to eat, doubt there is enough meat on them
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Well hello there Andrew! Sounds very true to me. Why not post a pic of those beauties of yours?
 
Technically we did manage to breed hymenocera elegans and get them to settle, however other than getting that far, we did have problems getting them to settle on starfish due to limited supply (even asterinas are too big).
 
accordsirh22 said:
i actually ended up selling those two. they werent getting along and i have elected to wait til i can get a proper, larger sized pair
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I have that decent size female if your interested in getting her a mate. I'd probably let her go if you are interested. What you got going on in that little bow tank now?
 
Harlequin Shrimp in Main Display

Harlequin Shrimp in Main Display

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dFuiAczaLz4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
16420121872_dd7d2e7bd3_c.jpg


This one is a female I'm keeping in a separate tank from the main display. She's in there with a male.

Day 2 - Already has taken care of this chocolate chip starfish. Only problem is, I bought these as a pair, and she's not sharing this starfish with the male. I wonder if the pair bond got broken? They were sold as a pair, but came in separate bags. Hmm..
 
Tony - that is a really nice shrimp! Where did you get the pair and how much did you pay? My pair would separate every now and again. You may want to cut the next star in half to ensure they both eat. Hopefully they will pair back up.
 
gotfrogs said:
Tony - that is a really nice shrimp! Where did you get the pair and how much did you pay? My pair would separate every now and again. You may want to cut the next star in half to ensure they both eat. Hopefully they will pair back up.
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The pair came from Diver's Den. They were sold as a pair, but shipped in separate bags. Maybe the bond was forgotten/lost?

Since that photo, I have had to move the male to another tank. He was getting beaten up pretty bad. I hope he makes it.

The female seems content on her own, but I really wanted to keep a pair.

Maybe I need to try another male...possibly a bigger one. The female has grown noticeably over the last couple of weeks.

ideas welcome!
 
It's possible one species is an H. Elegans, and the other is a H. picta. I have a similar situation here, my male is an H. elegans, and the female is a H. picta and they share food together, they breed, they hang near each other, but never travel or walk around the tank together.
 
Calappidae said:
It's possible one species is an H. Elegans, and the other is a H. picta. I have a similar situation here, my male is an H. elegans, and the female is a H. picta and they share food together, they breed, they hang near each other, but never travel or walk around the tank together.
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I think mine are the same species. But, I'd take your situation over the one I have. At least your female is not trying to kill your male! :facepalm:
 
let's talk about harlequin shrimp

let's talk about harlequin shrimp

Will they eat all starfish? ( Sea serpint? ) I am new to this hobby and do not want to add something that will start killing everything. I have a lot of Asterina starfish in my main tank. They eat the algae and I have not had a problem with them yet but am concerned with them getting out of control. One year old 180 gallon saltwater, aquarium 30 gallon refugium and 36 gallon sump
 
These are not a creature to purchase for asterina control. They will eat all the asterinas and will then starve if not fed. You have to be prepared to buy starfish for the rest of their lives.
Asterinas are harmless, just feed a bit less and the population won't go out of control.
 
They will eat some brittle stars though, if they have the chance. Thats only if that is all that is left. Most brittles can get away though. They don't mess with serpents. Bongo shrimp eat brittles and I think serpents, not positive on the serpents. If your using one for asterina control have a plan before purchase. Either have a future home for it where it will be fed she it is done or plan to buy a starfish at least every month for it. They are remarkable creatures and a joy to keep.
 
Hymenocera will not eat serpent or brittle starfish. Both lack tubefeet which is the only part of the star they eat. On very rare circumstances, they may attack a sea urchin however. I may have experienced this only once.. but I never physically seen the harlequins attack the urchin, only just a sudden disappearence.

Bumblebee shrimp, a relative of harlequin shrimp also live on a tubefeet diet (though not obligant) going after the same prey as harlys. Actually, I witnessed large numbers of bumbleshrimp being "hosted" by a sea apple, I believe that could've been potential prey for them since they do have tubefeet.. if that's the same for hymenocera I don't know.
 
They will eat these!... which is my newest addition since the Harlequin is gone. So, this is what I traded off for I suppose. LOL. They are both very beautiful, the harlequin with the coolest personality though. Just thought I would share my red linkia, a definite food source for a harlequin. :)

14nMbL2l.jpg
 
Calappidae said:
Hymenocera will not eat serpent or brittle starfish. Both lack tubefeet which is the only part of the star they eat. On very rare circumstances, they may attack a sea urchin however. I may have experienced this only once.. but I never physically seen the harlequins attack the urchin, only just a sudden disappearence.

Bumblebee shrimp, a relative of harlequin shrimp also live on a tubefeet diet (though not obligant) going after the same prey as harlys. Actually, I witnessed large numbers of bumbleshrimp being "hosted" by a sea apple, I believe that could've been potential prey for them since they do have tubefeet.. if that's the same for hymenocera I don't know.
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That does seem to make sense and that what I thought as well. Google research led to a lot of mixed reviews on that though. I do believe you to be correct though.
 
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