Boret May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 Hi there gang, Today I woke up to find that one Leather Coral frag has disappeared and one of my Harlequin Shrimp was next to it. Now it might be coincidence but I will ask it anyway... do Harlequin Shrimp eat softies? In this case a Leather coral frag? Thanks, B.
Jan May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 Yes, they eat corals too. http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDeta...=2&pid=1217
Jan May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 No, they don;t eat corals. I' sorry I read the bluezoo description totally wrong.
SkiCurtis May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 WOW to late for me I added 2 for my 240 system to eat all bad star fish..they were getting out of hand.
Boret May 28, 2009 Author May 28, 2009 I can't find the frag of leather coral and I did see the shrimp next to it... but I didn't see it eating so I am only speculating here. My tank is now clean of asterina stars so both harlequins are doing a great job keeping the stars at bay. There is a chance the frag flew away ... I just thought that I would ask.
lanman May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 Do the harlequins survive in a fish-rich environment?? Nothing eats them? If anyone has a starving harlequin that they need to get rid of... I have a few tanks full of asterina's that need eradicating. Do they eat the little brittle stars??? bob
Boret May 28, 2009 Author May 28, 2009 Bob, the Harlequins do an awesome job at cleaning up the little brittle stars!!! I use to have a ton in the 55g. When I move the stuff into the 92 I tried to remove as many as I could. I ended up with some in the 92 anyway and they were growing again. I was told that they will attack some corals and that the best way to get rid of them is with the harlequin shrimps. Now I can't see a single one of the tiny stars anymore. I hope there are still some around because my understanding is that the harlequins won't eat anything else. Not only they did the job they also look great. A very unique shrimp that gets a lot of attention. They are beautiful. I have tangs, clowns, cardinals, chromies, a wrasse and a damsel and they won't even touch the shrimps. They get along great with other shrimps in the tank. I got both of them from www.bluezooaquatics.com. I think there is a GB going on right. I also got a few anthias from them and they all died so I have mixed feelings... but the shrimps are doing great. Do the harlequins survive in a fish-rich environment?? Nothing eats them? If anyone has a starving harlequin that they need to get rid of... I have a few tanks full of asterina's that need eradicating. Do they eat the little brittle stars??? bob
L8 2 RISE May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009 Bob, the Harlequins do an awesome job at cleaning up the little brittle stars!!! I use to have a ton in the 55g. When I move the stuff into the 92 I tried to remove as many as I could. I ended up with some in the 92 anyway and they were growing again. I was told that they will attack some corals and that the best way to get rid of them is with the harlequin shrimps. Now I can't see a single one of the tiny stars anymore. I hope there are still some around because my understanding is that the harlequins won't eat anything else. Not only they did the job they also look great. A very unique shrimp that gets a lot of attention. They are beautiful. I have tangs, clowns, cardinals, chromies, a wrasse and a damsel and they won't even touch the shrimps. They get along great with other shrimps in the tank. I got both of them from www.bluezooaquatics.com. I think there is a GB going on right. I also got a few anthias from them and they all died so I have mixed feelings... but the shrimps are doing great. Are you sure you meant brittle stars and not asterina stars? I was under the impression that harlequins wouldn't eat the small brittle stars due to the fact that they do not eat the larger brittle and serpent stars. I've also never heard of the little brittle stars eating coral, I have heard it of asterina's, but not brittles, also, I consider serpent and brittle stars some of the best clean up critters out there.
Boret May 28, 2009 Author May 28, 2009 Are you sure you meant brittle stars and not asterina stars? I was under the impression that harlequins wouldn't eat the small brittle stars due to the fact that they do not eat the larger brittle and serpent stars. I've also never heard of the little brittle stars eating coral, I have heard it of asterina's, but not brittles, also, I consider serpent and brittle stars some of the best clean up critters out there. You are right!! My mistake, I meant asterina stars.
Amuze May 29, 2009 May 29, 2009 You need to go out and pick up a chocolate chip starfish, cut one leg off, toss the remainder in your sump and feed the shrimp the leg. Do this once a week or until the leg is gone and you will be able to keep it fed. Otherwise, you are slowly starving it if there's no other source of food for it left in your tank (which there probably isn't).
Boret June 4, 2009 Author June 4, 2009 (edited) I got a huge asterina star (about an inch) from a buddy's tank. I put it in the sand, in the middle front of the tank. It took one of the Harlequin shrimps about 30 second to detect it, come out of the rocks and grab it. It turned it upside down, and dragged back to his lair!!! It was cool. If anyone has an infestation of asterina stars I wouldn't mind stopping by and grabbing a few for my shrimps. Edited June 4, 2009 by Boret
mling June 4, 2009 June 4, 2009 Hi there gang, Today I woke up to find that one Leather Coral frag has disappeared and one of my Harlequin Shrimp was next to it. Now it might be coincidence but I will ask it anyway... do Harlequin Shrimp eat softies? In this case a Leather coral frag? Thanks, B. If you need to replace your leather frag, you can frag a piece from me since I live near by.
Boret June 4, 2009 Author June 4, 2009 So do they eat brittles and serpents..? I don't think so. That was my mistake in previous post. I found some info that mentions they eat urchins. Interesting thing is that they look like they munch on some of the frozen food I feed the tank. But it might be just my imagination. I am still getting used to their feeding habits. They are really cool and have done a great job with the asterina stars, but they can be evil. Check out this excerpt I found online: "[blue Linckia starfish]...this is the only type of food this species [Harlequin Shrimp] will ever accept, so these shrimp are not for the faint-of-heart or for starfish lovers...or for those who don't like spending big bucks on fish food! I actually have 2 pet Linckias (an orange & a blue one) in my other reef tank, but they go nowhere near the nano-reef that the harlequins are in. They get one feeder Linckia every 2 months. But it takes them sometimes 2 months to finish off a starfish. They keep them pinned upside down so they can't escape, and then the shrimp feed the starfish by dropping bits of food in their mouths to keep them alive. Then they eat off their sucker feet until the entire starfish is devoured." I really can't get used to the idea of chopping a chocolate star, even if it heals... it seems so cruel!! But I will either have to find a feeding regimen for them or they will die whenever they are done with the asterina population. (I dont see a single one anymore but they might be more in rocks). Maybe I should try to put a bunch in the refugium and see if they will reproduce there. Hunter, I will take you up on it... plus would love to see your setup!! Mr. TOTM Thx SkiCurtis, but you are about 60 miles from me
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