Harlequin Shrimps

[james-lee]

Need a little info as I am thinking of getting one due to my asterina problem starting to go crazy. I realized I have way more than I thought and found out that harlequins eat starfish. So here are my questions:

1) Will a CBS and peppermint shrimp get along with them?
2) After the asterinas are devoured will it go after my 8" brittle star?
3) If I supplement feed them say a chocolate chip stars leg how often do I feed? IE once a week every other day?
4) Who or where can I get one and should it be a single one for my 225 or a pair?

Thanks guys!

 

[G-Tank]

Taging along. I saw a documentary on this at National Geograpich or Discovery Channel and they flip over big star fishes and take them into their dungeon to eat!

 

[rayray]

1) Will a CBS and peppermint shrimp get along with them?

When I added a CBS, the smaller harlequin ripped him apart.

2) After the asterinas are devoured will it go after my 8" brittle star?

The harlequin never gets all the asterinas. Some get away, regrow, multiply. Harlequins do not eat brittle stars - I have also always had a brittle star and the harlequin would rather starve than go for it.

3) If I supplement feed them say a chocolate chip stars leg how often do I feed? IE once a week every other day?

Depends on the size. Larger ones eat more. In nature they are always munching on a star in their lair, so I always make sure they have something. An adult will get as big as your thumb and take 1-2days per inch of starfish. You should feed a variety of stars. I rotate between linkia, chocolate chip and sandsifter. The more you feed the more it will grow and molt. Remember chocolate chips eat coral...

4) Who or where can I get one and should it be a single one for my 225 or a pair?

In my 75g I had a solo harlequin. He did fine. White with blue are from indo-pacific and range $20-40 everywhere. I have a hawaiian mated pair colored white with pink. They are $100 each, or $250 for the pair. They are rare and can be found at liveaquaria. I got mine from www.sealifedirect.com because I got a guarantee from the diver that he collected them together. Even more badass because they work together to flip over starfish 5x their size.

Just out of the bag:

Their love shack in my reef:

 

[james-lee]

Holy crap! If I add one to the tank with my CBS already in it would it kill him? Cause I aint gonna lie. Shrimpy gets priority over the Harlequin. if thats the case I will just continue my ho hum harpooning of the asterinas lol! as far as feeding it a chocolate chip I would just put the star fish in my 10 gallon nano and lop off a leg when its time to feed.

 

[rayray]

ahhh C...

IMO, HS are more fascinating. Plus HS don't attack ur fishies.

soon, you'll have an asterina infestation.

i would put the CBS in the nano or trade up...

 

[james-lee]

Well i guess if I get another smaller tank Ill move the CBS there and then get the Harlequins. First off I have to convince my wife why we need a third tank now lmao!
Also is it safe to assume that it will kill my peppermint shrimp as well?

 

[rayray]

Also is it safe to assume that it will kill my peppermint shrimp as well?

Dunno. Never tried it.

But I do have a cleaner shrimp pair that stay up in the rocks. Just servicing the fish...

Oh yeah, I had a fire shrimp in there too before I added mr & mrs harlequin. Havent seen him since...

 

[james-lee]

Thanks Ray for all the info!

 

[swavings]

I recently just had the same problem. I swear I had 100s.

1) Will a CBS and peppermint shrimp get along with them? I have a peppermint in my 150g and I had no issues

2) After the asterinas are devoured will it go after my 8" brittle star? They will eat most starfish, but not sure.


3) If I supplement feed them say a chocolate chip stars leg how often do I feed? IE once a week every other day?
I have 3 H shrimp and have not had to feed them additional star fish yet, but was told one chocolate chip star fish per month.

4) Who or where can I get one and should it be a single one for my 225 or a pair? I got mine from Vivid Aquariums, and have 3 of them. It took about a month to get rid of them all.

 

[JOSE CASAS]

Need a little info as I am thinking of getting one due to my asterina problem starting to go crazy. I realized I have way more than I thought and found out that harlequins eat starfish. So here are my questions:

1) Will a CBS and peppermint shrimp get along with them?
2) After the asterinas are devoured will it go after my 8" brittle star?
3) If I supplement feed them say a chocolate chip stars leg how often do I feed? IE once a week every other day?
4) Who or where can I get one and should it be a single one for my 225 or a pair?

Thanks guys!

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