Evil Aquilonastra Stars

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So these stars were once a peaceful part of my cleanup crew, but no more. I need to kill them all because they're eating my zoas. I thought about a pair of harlequin shrimp, but this isn't an option. I already have two pistol shrimp, one peppermint, one cleaner, and one coral banded all in my display tank. Am I doomed to manual removal of these guys? That's a lot of putting my hands in the tank... something I save for a last resort.
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ichthyogeek

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Why isn't a pair of harlequins a problem? It looks like you have a fairly big tank, enough for territory for all of those different shrimp.
 
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Why isn't a pair of harlequins a problem? It looks like you have a fairly big tank, enough for territory for all of those different shrimp.
Everything I read about them said they had to be the only shrimp species in the tank with plenty of caves. I have a 75g with loads of caves, but with all of the other shrimp I'm afraid they'll fight for territory.
 
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So I ended up getting a harlequin shrimp, my LFS guy told me it would work and I know that he'd tell me if it wouldn't. Drip acclimated and after five minutes in the tank he nabbed one of those stars and headed for a cave. I hope he helps me win this battle.
 
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\m/reefsnmetal\m/

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So my dude Pennywise is still slayin stars left and right. They all try to run up the glass and I scooped out a couple hundred with my net. We may actually make short work of these *****s after all.
 
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\m/reefsnmetal\m/

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My current method of letting Pennywise murder the stars wile I scoop the glass has been highly effective. At first I was scooping them by the 100's, then dozens, then just a few. Now I'm to the point I'm not sure if I should continue scooping. At what point has Pennywise done his job and when do I take him out of the tank so he doesn't starve?
 

Saltyreef

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My current method of letting Pennywise murder the stars wile I scoop the glass has been highly effective. At first I was scooping them by the 100's, then dozens, then just a few. Now I'm to the point I'm not sure if I should continue scooping. At what point has Pennywise done his job and when do I take him out of the tank so he doesn't starve?
When youre satisfied with his massacre ;)
 
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\m/reefsnmetal\m/

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The battle continues as pennywise terrorizes the evil stars. There’s not that many left anymore. I quit scooping so I don’t go overkill and take all of his food.
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You should set up a star enclosure, so you have continued food for your lil murderer. Just a bucket of clean water with a rock and some water movement. Put all the ones you scoop out in there. Then, once you're sure the stars are all gone from the tank, put Pennywise in that bucket. He'll have a food supply until you can rehome him.

It's really interesting that so many people have all their starfish seemingly sound the alarm about the harlequin and get moving. Such a dramatic reaction from little creatures with no brains!
 
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\m/reefsnmetal\m/

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You should set up a star enclosure, so you have continued food for your lil murderer. Just a bucket of clean water with a rock and some water movement. Put all the ones you scoop out in there. Then, once you're sure the stars are all gone from the tank, put Pennywise in that bucket. He'll have a food supply until you can rehome him.

It's really interesting that so many people have all their starfish seemingly sound the alarm about the harlequin and get moving. Such a dramatic reaction from little creatures with no brains!
That’s a great idea! I’m afraid that he was so effective I’m already low on stars. I have a tank on standby to move him to but I may end up rehoming him sooner than later.
I was extremely surprised at how reactive the stars were to pennywise’s presence. Very dramatic lol. This hobby never ceases to amaze me.
 

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You might want to put out a "shrimp about to need new home" ad now. Keep him until you're out of stars, of course, but that way you can hopefully have a new home lined up by the time he's mostly out of food.
 
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You might want to put out a "shrimp about to need new home" ad now. Keep him until you're out of stars, of course, but that way you can hopefully have a new home lined up by the time he's mostly out of food.
Thanks for the good advice. I’ll start putting out some feelers to find pennywise his next home. Until then, the hunt continues lol.
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