Feeding a Harlequin shrimps

[Edward Smith]

I'm thinking about getting a harlequin shrimp for my nano. Does the shrimp eat only the starfish's feet or the whole thing?

I'm concerned that if the rest of the starfish was left to rot, this would pollute such a small volume of water that has no skimmer.

Thanks!

[purplehaze]

The shrimp will eat the whole thing..but sometimes the starfish starts to desintegrate/decompose prior to being completely eaten.If that happens just take the rest out.

[LeslieH]

The shrimp flip a starfish over to keep it in one place, then start picking away at the tip of one arm Once they've nibbled down to the disk they start back at another arm tip until all the arms are gone then finally eat the disk. If you're putting a pair (and they're always in mated pairs in nature) in a nano then I suggest you use Asterinas. They're small, reproduce quickly in tanks, and should be easy to procure - just ask at your local club to find someone whose tank is being overrun by them.. Feeding reef stars to harlequins is a terrible practice. I've heard estimates of 9 dead stars for every one that survives collecting, transport, acclimation at the LFS, and introduction into a private tank.

[stsmythe]

Leslie,
are Asterinas stars reef safe?

[LeslieH]

The vast majority are reef safe. Once in a while someone will report coral damage caused by an Asterina but 99% of complaints about them concern how fast they can reproduce & take over tanks.

[stsmythe]

Is there somewhere where I can purchase some Asterina starfish? I wanted to put a harlequin shrimp in my tank but I also don't want to be playing with fire if the shrimp doesn't eat them and then I have Asterina all over the place.

[lennyd19]

Not to change the subject but are these shrimp compatible with any other kind of shrimp.

[LeslieH]

Places like Inland Aquatics and Indo-Pacific Sea Farms sell Asterina, I'm sure others do as well. If you're in contact with other reefers in your area ask if they have any in their tanks - many people have them.

[charlesr1958]

Good timing, I just bought a mated pair today and have them in my shrimp breeder tank with quite a few sexy shrimp. From what I can tell, they could care less if other shrimp are present or not. The female is already carrying a load of eggs also.



Chuck

[cbr600rri]

wow, you can afford them linckia over the chocolate chip seastars! btw, nice pair! how much did you get the pair for?

[LeslieH]

Chuck has an advantage over the rest of us. If you look under his signature you'll understand why most of his critters don't cost more than a few dollars for gas & couple of jellyfish stings!

[charlesr1958]

Yes, I do have a slight advantage...lol, which means I do not pay for any starfish as I can collect any and all that are needed. The harlequin shrimp, I had to buy from an exporter friend of mine since I can not locate them myself in the wild, and being able to get them at collectors cost, I think I paid about 4 dollars for the mated pair. I am also going to start collecting other starfish species and see if the shrimp find them edible or not. So far, it looks like it is going to take the shrimp a very long time to kill an entire linkia sp. They've been working on one for two days now and have hardly scratched it. From what I can see, they appear to use two specialized legs to pick open a small wound, eat what they want, and then move on to start on another spot. I kind of feel sorry for the starfish.

Chuck

[cbr600rri]

Ahh, now I see that. 4 bucks, for both!! Ok, I'm jealous now. And I was about to mention, you can always cut a part of the leg, instead of feeding the entire thing, since this will save you money and you won't need to purchase or in your case, collect. I'm so jealous now!! Now, if you were in Hawaii, you can get the purple colored Harlequin's

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showp...t=1&thecat=500

[charlesr1958]

I noticed that, (other color variations) and wondered if there is more than one species of harlequins. oh, and next time, I think I am going to do the "one arm" at a time method since they seem to have their hands full with an entire starfish.

Chuck

[charlesr1958]

Leslie, I meant to mention, that if I ever do find some harlequins in the wild feeding on a starfish, I am going to collect the starfish as well and see if there are any of those worms you mentioned inside of it.

Chuck

[LeslieH]

That would be very cool, Chuck.

The different color harlequins are otherwise identical. Some lab rat will have to do DNA analysis to see if the color variation is the equivalent of blondes, redheads, & brunettes or represents actual species.

[stsmythe]

Leslie, are there any places in the Los Angeles area where I could pick up some of those asterina? Those other places you listed are out of state, correct?