Harlequin Shrimp Behavior

[gsw0716]

After seeing the one at my lfs for months, and always holding back, I pulled the trigger on one, hope to get a female if things go well. I have a chocolate starfish coming in on Wed from my lfs, so hopefully the few Asternia Starfish I dropped in will be eaten by then. Anyways, those of you with Harlequin Shrimp experiences, any typical behavior from them that's a sign of them being content or happy etc. Same if they are in distress. So far he's been walking around, but right now just hanging upside down under a rock. Just would like some basic info. Thanks!

 

[VintageReefer]

That’s about all they do
They hide. They hang out upside down. They look for starfish then eat them

 

[gsw0716]

How often do you feed yours Starfish?

 

[BwA_TR82]

How often do you feed yours Starfish?

It's eating his asterina population right now

 

[bluemon]

How often do you feed yours Starfish?

Have not had to feed mine in over 3 months after introduction.

Still a lot of asterinas in my 125.

If you bought a harlequin without having an actual problem with asterinas (which it kinda sounds like since you dropped in a few asterinas and are buying chocolate chip starfish), I strongly suggest returning it to the LFS.

It will be prohibitively expensive to feed it chocolate chips after a while, and you would have to keep the stars fed in the sump or Refugium as they eat coral.

(Or kill them and freeze them)

 

[VintageReefer]

How often do you feed yours Starfish?

My tank has tons of them. I read that harlequins eat 15-30 of the small asterina per day. If he averages 20 a day, that’s 600 a month or 7,200 a year

I’ve had one before. He ate them all in 2 months. Then I needed chocolate chip starfish, one per week. Cut off an arm and feed an arm each day and then the last arm and body, then a day or two without, then need a new chocolate chip starfish. You will need 1 per week

 

[bluemon]

My tank has tons of them. I read that harlequins eat 15-30 of the small asterina per day. If he averages 20 a day, that’s 600 a month or 7,200 a year

I’ve had one before. He ate them all in 2 months. Then I needed chocolate chip starfish, one per week. Cut off an arm and feed an arm each day and then the last arm and body, then a day or two without, then need a new chocolate chip starfish. You will need 1 per week

Thanks for the estimate, didn’t see a number floating around before. I’ve had mine for 3 months now… if I still see a lot of starfish, my tank must have been infested.

I do notice the zoas aren’t being eaten anymore though

 

[VintageReefer]

Thanks for the estimate, didn’t see a number floating around before. I’ve had mine for 3 months now… if I still see a lot of starfish, my tank must have been infested.

I do notice the zoas aren’t being eaten anymore though

That’s good !

Mine was out tonight saving a zoa colony

 

[bluemon]

Thanks for the estimate, didn’t see a number floating around before. I’ve had mine for 3 months now… if I still see a lot of starfish, my tank must have been infested.

I do notice the zoas aren’t being eaten anymore though

That’s good !

Mine was out tonight saving a zoa colony

I’ve never seen mine in my zoa colonies…

I always see him in the same ledge, and moving somewhere if I catch him at night; I have not even seen him hunt, except for when I picked an Asterina up and handed him one.

Still gets the job done though!

 

[VintageReefer]

Thanks for the estimate, didn’t see a number floating around before. I’ve had mine for 3 months now… if I still see a lot of starfish, my tank must have been infested.

I do notice the zoas aren’t being eaten anymore though

Asterina nearly destroyed a exosphere colony on me. I introduced a harlequin and he ate them all and the colony regrew from 5 small polyps. Now some time later, I have had 4 types of asterina become introduced in my system, multiplying like crazy. I suspect one of mine are a type that eat sps and torches. So I had to buy another harlequin. This one cake in half the size as my last one, so I suspect it will take longer to do the job

 

[bluemon]

Asterina nearly destroyed an exosphere colony on me. I introduced a harlequin and he ate them all and the colony regrew from 5 small polyps. Now some time later, I have had 4 types of asterina become introduced in my system, multiplying like crazy. I suspect one of mine are a type that eat sps and torches. So I had to buy another harlequin. This one cake in half the size as my last one, so I suspect it will take longer to do the job

I definitely had mine eat two of my SPS; not sure if they were the same kind as the ones that eat zoas, but they looked the same.

They really disappointed me after me always defending them as being benign hitchhikers…

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

wanders the system predating the asterina population.