Harlequin Shrimp Behavior

[Reloadeddevil]

Can somebody please give me some info on this shrimp. I am planning to get one. So if yoy have one or had one any information will be very usefull, such as food, behavior and is it reef safe. Thanks.

 

[cee]

Reef safe, only eats starfish. You must be prepared to feed it starfish. It will eat asterina stars but when they run out you will have to buy food for it.

 

[Oceanslayer18]

Reef safe, only eats starfish. You must be prepared to feed it starfish. It will eat asterina stars but when they run out you will have to buy food for it.

+1 I have a pair abd I bought them after I noticed a large spawning of little starfishes and I took them about thee weeks to eat them all. Now I have to supplement them

 

[Reloadeddevil]

Thanks for the info. Can u tell me what kind of food i need to feed it. Is there a food out there, that we can purchase for it?

 

[PR_Reefers]

Try to get a pair... they do better that way!! There is a good article online.. where it shows you how to sex them! I feed my chocolate chip star legs about once every 1 or 2 weeks... they will start wondering around the tank usually by this time...(looking for food)... otherwise they will usually be hidden out of site if the tank permits it!! they are reef safe and very passive... won't harm or bother anything!!

 

[boehm742]

Thanks for the info. Can u tell me what kind of food i need to feed it. Is there a food out there, that we can purchase for it?

Yes, you buy starfish for it to eat.
I put one in a month ago, saw him for a couple days and havent seen him since. Ive heard there nocturnal tho and i dont spend much time looking at night.

 

[Reloadeddevil]

So do you put a live star fish in there or u buy a dead one. Also how often do u have to feed them the star fish? Meaning once a month or twice a month. Thanks.

 

[skinz78]

I had a pair, what I used to do is go to Petco and get Chocolate chip stars and when they were on sale I would stock up and put them in my sump. You put the star in the tank by the shrimp and they will go right for it. They don't kill it right away though. They flip it over and there has been some debate as to if they paralyze it with poison or not. Once the star is flipped over they don't move. It usually takes a pair about 2 weeks to fully consume an avg size choc chip star. Once it is gone you will need to have another ready to go in there.

 

[Reloadeddevil]

Really appreciate the info.

Thank You for everybody's help in this.

 

[subielover]

Good information here, check this out...https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/invert-forum/53286-harlequin-shrimp-show-off-thread.html

 

[cee]

I have frozen chocolate chip stars for them before but find putting them in the sump and cutting a leg off about every 3 weeks to work the best. The star will even "skim" off excess food that makes its way into the sump to survive. Sounds extreme, I know, but keeps the Harley happy and my costs down. You know the Harleys are hungry when you see the roaming around the tank during daylight hours.

 

[Murfman]

Here is a link that was embedded in the other link above. Has a lot of good info on the HS. They eat the feet off of the starfish. They will actually feed the starfish they have turned over to keep it alive as they feed on the feet.

Harlequin Shrimp

 

[Reloadeddevil]

Both links have very useful info. Thanks a lot.

 

[Kataro]

Are these harlequin shrimps fairly shy? I got 2 (wasn't paired) but I sexed them to be male / female... They stay in the same rockwork but don't stay close to each other though they're aren't fighting, so I don't think they're paired up yet.

I try feeding them chocolate starfish.... never seem interested in the starfish, just stare at the star or walk away.

 

[rgrking]

The Harlequins are almost impossible to sex. I even sent pics of the entire underside of mine to a few people who had successfully bred and raised them, one was a Dr in marine science, and was told I had two males. Well, here's proof there are a pair

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WUJ--yGmBE I[/video]

I've had them a little over 6 months and this is the second time I've caught them spawning. It was pure luck that I did. I was catching clown fry last night, when I noticed the larvae. Very distinct.

I wasn't expecting this spawn so I'm not sure if they will survive or not. I put them in my Kriesel with some BBS. That's their food after about the third day after hatch.

Your best bet is to get a proven pair. That's the only way to know for certian. Two males can live together happily with no aggression, until you add a female or a third male. Then there will be death.