Starfish question????
- Thread starter aadams22
- Start date
aadams22
New member
I honestly have no idea, but its always gone when i come back from school. He finally finished it around 3 hours after that post...almost 12 hours! Oh well, hes ok now 
i was just scared haha. I usually feed him half a krill every other day, i worry he doesnt get enough in my tiny tank with no fish (10 gallon)
i was just scared haha. I usually feed him half a krill every other day, i worry he doesnt get enough in my tiny tank with no fish (10 gallon)
Calappidae
Harlequin Shrimp
They get a foot in diameter it would literaly cover a third of the 29 gals glass... 125 or higher is more appropriate for a full sized predatory star like CC.
aadams22
New member
Ok. I was aware of this possible problem when i picked him up. Like i said, there were conflicting sources on the internet, and the petco label (dont even start, i know lol) said 5" max.
So i guess my question now is
What and how often do i need to feed him?
And whats his max size he can be before i need to find him a new home?
So i guess my question now is
What and how often do i need to feed him?
And whats his max size he can be before i need to find him a new home?
Calappidae
Harlequin Shrimp
He should be good in a 29 until around 8inches. After that upgrading him or removing him entirely would be the best option. It's down the how much rock and livestock is in the tank as CC will catch and eat anything they can grab. If it was literaly the only thing in a 55gal with feedings then it would actually be fine when full grown.
I house several 6" CC in a 20x20" space in my sump with a giant pump in the middle, so life expectancy is pretty good. I never feed tbh.. I just ignore them down there.. guess they are cleaning up the gunk that gets trapped in that compartment.
I house several 6" CC in a 20x20" space in my sump with a giant pump in the middle, so life expectancy is pretty good. I never feed tbh.. I just ignore them down there.. guess they are cleaning up the gunk that gets trapped in that compartment.
aadams22
New member
Ok cool. Basically, i set up this ten gallon tank to get me started in the SW game, and im not sure how or when im gonna upgrade yet. I do plan on a pair of ocellaris clownfish whenever my LFS can get them in, but right now all ive got is him and a banded coral shrimp. I guess when he hits 5" or so or just starts to look ridiculous ill donate him to my friends 400 gallon system
Calappidae
Harlequin Shrimp
10g is too small for Ocellarus, or any clownfish. 20g is more like it.
Be careful with CBS, they are oppertunistic meaning if a fish is slow, or sick infront of him.. then he may take the oppertunity to grab it as a meal. 10g is pretty small for him too as I've seen full grown CBS to get pretty massive in arm+antenna diameter despite sources saying a smaller size in length. They need a cave like structure to make a cleaning station too. (one rock in the middle isn't enough, also just cause they make cleaning stations don't negate the possibility of predatory activity).
Like I pointed out, CC will eat whatever it can catch. They are also not reef safe and will devour all coral in an aquarium, I doubt your friend would want that unless it's a FOWLR setup.
Be careful with CBS, they are oppertunistic meaning if a fish is slow, or sick infront of him.. then he may take the oppertunity to grab it as a meal. 10g is pretty small for him too as I've seen full grown CBS to get pretty massive in arm+antenna diameter despite sources saying a smaller size in length. They need a cave like structure to make a cleaning station too. (one rock in the middle isn't enough, also just cause they make cleaning stations don't negate the possibility of predatory activity).
Like I pointed out, CC will eat whatever it can catch. They are also not reef safe and will devour all coral in an aquarium, I doubt your friend would want that unless it's a FOWLR setup.
Calappidae
Harlequin Shrimp
In a 10g your only options are some nano shrimp like sexies, bumblebee, harlequin (obligant starfish eaters), pistol shrimp, pom pom crabs, porcelain crabs, small hermits, gobies, and that's pretty much it from the top of my head...
..and of course species dedicated tanks for small mantis shrimp (neogonodactylids and some gonodactylids), crabs that are perfectly fine in a 10g but threaten other small nano fish/inverts (sally light foots, emeralds, etc..) you get the point there.
This is why you gotta research prior to setting anything up, know what you're getting into.
Every 10gallon I ever setup got teared down withen a month.. they're too difficult and limited to maintain with the small water volume. The last one I had was surprisely beautiful and well established, but crashed after one of my harlequin's failed to finish a rotting starfish and a nitrate spike pretty much blew the tank up with algea nearly unmanagable. This happened only twice in my 125 after moving them and the results were thankfully not as bad or even noticeable for that matter.
If I ever setup another it's just going to be a frag tank or a place to put my n. wennerae to free space in my sump...
but I'm not saying nano tanks aren't rewarding. Check out the nano threads for some inspiration and ideas! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75 they can be just as beautiful and rewarding as large setups with the proper equiptment and knowledge.
..and of course species dedicated tanks for small mantis shrimp (neogonodactylids and some gonodactylids), crabs that are perfectly fine in a 10g but threaten other small nano fish/inverts (sally light foots, emeralds, etc..) you get the point there.
This is why you gotta research prior to setting anything up, know what you're getting into.
Every 10gallon I ever setup got teared down withen a month.. they're too difficult and limited to maintain with the small water volume. The last one I had was surprisely beautiful and well established, but crashed after one of my harlequin's failed to finish a rotting starfish and a nitrate spike pretty much blew the tank up with algea nearly unmanagable. This happened only twice in my 125 after moving them and the results were thankfully not as bad or even noticeable for that matter.
If I ever setup another it's just going to be a frag tank or a place to put my n. wennerae to free space in my sump...
but I'm not saying nano tanks aren't rewarding. Check out the nano threads for some inspiration and ideas! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75 they can be just as beautiful and rewarding as large setups with the proper equiptment and knowledge.
