harlequin shrimp

I have a fluval edge aquarium and was wondering if I could house a pair of harlequin shrimp in there successfully. They would be the only inhabitants in the tank except for a small CUC. For coral I would just have Zoas probably. For feeding I was thinking of keeping 3-4 Chocolate chip starfish in my 20g fuge on my 60g reef and cut a leg off everytime they need food. Would the choco stars hurt my fuge in any way? Also, would it be beneficial to plumb the edge onto my DT or is it necessary? For filtration I would have a aquaclear 20 HOB filter running carbon and maybe a sponge. For lighting I would replace the halogen bulbs with MR16 LEDs which should be sufficient for Zoas. Overall, what do you think of my plan? Also, how often would I need to feed the Shrimp?

 

I don't know if starfish are hardy enough to with stand repeated amputations.


also personally I think its cruel to take chunks out of animals while keeping them alive.

 

is there an alternitive to live star fish for food seems cruel to give them a live starfish

 

I can relate to that Sostoudt

Im fine with feeding live fish to predators
yet the idea of amputating a leg of a star to feed the shrimp does bother me

crazy really, confused morals/ ethics in my case probably

yet dropping the star in full and allowing the shrimp to eat them , also fits well with my conscious?

maybe the line for me is mimicking nature is OK and I can get my head round that
but interefering with it in a way that potentially prolongs the discomfort of the creature
causes me mental discomfort

yet I put live worms on hooks and drown them without any guilt?


Brennan the stars will not cause any issues in the fuge , its just corals they can consume occasionally hence not reef safe

 

yea. maybe clam meat or something!

 

even stars out of the wild ordered through a company for frozen food

 

If you have snails in your fuge, they'll eat them. I laugh every time I go in one LFS (supposed to be the best in town) and see the astrea snail tank full of empty shells because they put the chocolate chip starfish in there LOL. Last time we were in there there was a star actively eating one of the astreas on the glass.

Oh, and the harlequins won't eat clam. They only eat the tube feet off of the stars.

 

its up to you morally, i mean, the shrimp do the same thing, they cut off a leg, and keep the star alive as long as possible, sawing off one leg at a time. while beautiful, everything has their price.

 

Ya I know. Starfish can regenerate their limbs and sure this may be cruel but it would happen to them anyway if they fell prey to a harlequin shrimp. Morally I would be ok to do it but its just my honest opinion. My actual question though is if the shrimp would be ok in that size tank.