Harlequin Shrimp Question

[calendor]

I am thinking of getting a harlequin shrimp for asterina control... they make me squeamish when i see them sitting on my zoa's and I have a ton of them....

1. I know it will eat my sand sifter star, it will get relegated to the sump. I have a large brittle star that i'll never be able to get out, it spends all it's time in the aquascape. Will it find and eat the brittle star as well?

2. I have a large tank (480 gal) with a a large amount of live rock. Will the asterina population be able to reproduce fast enough to sustain a harlequin in that size of tank without supplemental starfish feedings? My wife loves starfish and she'll freak if if start sending in sacrificial lambs. I would rather avoid that if i can.

Lastly... quick opinion on the asterina's. Do they really eat Zoa's? I have seen enough of then sitting on the zoa's to make me nervous, not sure if they're actually eating the zoa's or if they're just eating algae off of them?

 

[Mike N]

1. Here's a quote from this forum that probably answers your question:
"They typically will not eat brittle stars. That said once mine thinned out everything else they prefered... they did turn on my brittle stars. The little black ones first then the one larger one I had."
2. In a tank that size, if you've got some visible asterina, you've likely got tons more that aren't visible. I wouldn't worry about the harlequin starving for a long while.
Extra credit: I've heard they do eat Zoas from multiple sources. Its possible they were just "cleaning", but who knows.

 

[wkscott]

1. I sometimes have dozens in my 90g tank. I've never noticed them eating my zoas. I normally just see them on the glass eating algae.
2. Unless you have a large, deep sandbed in your sump, your sand sifting star may not survive very long.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Im in the same boat as you, exactly. I have heard that they will eat zoos if left to their own devices. I just stuck a small-medium harlequin in there with no chocolate chip star and he's been eating all the astreas. I can't wait till they're all gone.