I'm considering getting a Harlequin shrimp.

From what I know, they eat starfish and only starfish.
I have a 14g Biocube, with 3 colonies of greenish zoanthids, 2 colonies of pulsing pom pom xenia and some green star polyps. so it shouldnt bother those correct? what i want to do, is find somebody with an overload of asterina stars that could donate some to my cause instead of flushing them. or would it be better to get a chocolate chip or a brittle star every now and then? how often would i have to get them? sorry for all of the questions, i just want to do this right.

 

Most harlequin shrimp will not eat asterina stars. You can't get a chocolate chip starfish because they eat corals. So that leaves you with either brittle stars or sand shifting stars which are more expensive.

 

I think he will be fine with a chocolate Chip starfish as the shrimp are going to pretty much attack it as soon as they see it. I don't think it will have time to go eat the corals.( not really sure so let's wait for someone to clarify)
Pretty much you will have to buy a star per week. That's usually how long it lasts them.

You will also have to check on your star periodically so that if it dies soon in your tank you can remove it before it starts making your water dirty.
Bristle stars also work but they will die quicker than your chocolate stars. I see brittles going for 10bucks at my lfs.

 

actually some harlequin will eat asternias or whatever they are called. just like the ORA mandarins with frozens, its all a matter of chance. and they CANT be fed brittestars. i could explain why but that would be very long . a 14g would be ok. in order for them to do best you would need to get a pair in a species only tank. your corals will be fine as far as the shrimp go. if you have a FOWLR tank i would recomend getting 4-5 choco stars and cutting off a leg for feeding time, but alternate the stars. good luck its a lot of work and take pics

 

sometimes they will ignore the starfish or even try to keep it in there territory but, it escapes and then it eats all your coral. IMO not worth the risk. +1 with checking on it because even iff they do kill it the decaying star could mess up you tank

 

what if i got some choco chip stars and kept them in a kritter keeper inside the tank? what could i feed them? i have a 14g biocube and i took out the bioballs in the back to make into a tiny refugium, could i make them live back there?

 

Would you really want to put a kritter keeper inside your 14g aquarium? I suppose it would work but its going to take up a lot of space which is a precious commodity for a nano tank.

I think you would be better off setting up a 10 gal and either using that as the harlequin tank or store the sea stars in there and just cut off a leg for feeding purposes.

 

i just dont see my self torturing an animal like that though:-/
but thats just me..
i guess knowing what the requirements for a chocolate chip you could set up a tank and add like 3-4 stars and then just cut off a leg of one then the other then the other.. that way you give time for them to get better..
then again.. that seems a little cruel to me.:-X

 

yeah that would take up precious space. do you have a bigger tank with a sump? my plan for harlequin was to have an 8 gal reef and a 45 gal FOWLR and just put all the chocos in there. you could try linkia starfish but you must read a lot and be dedicated.

btw you can feed choco anything meaty.....literally anything

 

Harlequins do eat asterinas... that is the main reason why people introduce them to their tanks...

I had one in my previous tank whic notcably tore down on the population. and kept them at small numbers.

Ive never heard of some one buying a harlquin and wanting to introduce asternias to their tank. Some asterinas harm corals and can be a nuisance in large numbers.

But yea they are probably the coolest shrimp to have. In order to keep one with out asterinas ... you would want a seperate tank to hold the starfish where you can clip a small piece of its leg off for food. the starfish would grow back that leg.