Harlequin shrimp...

Flats Man · Aug 16, 2010

i was researching these guys, definitely somthing interesting... in my tank on almost ALL my corals and liverock, they have been overwhelmed by these tiny brittle stars(1inch long when stretched).. i havents seen any problems in the tank, lol i just dont like them..
what i read about these shrimp is that they love starfish(in fact thats all they eat).
question is would these guys chow down on my problem stars or no?

soccerbag · Aug 16, 2010

Yes, they will. They like the little cyrinth (sp?) stars but they will feed on sand sifter stars as well so just keep that in mind (if you have any). I got two a few months ago (due to the exact same problem) and they wiped them out fairly quickly. Of course, once they run out of food, they will not acclimate to anything else so it's best to pass them along to a fellow reefer (with the same issue) to keep them alive. They are really cool shrimp - ashame they only eat stars!!!

Flats Man · Aug 16, 2010

lol thanks for the help, i think ima end up buying em and end up wanting to keep em they look so kool. but yea i have a baby flame hawk(a lil bit bigger than 1inch) cinnamon clown(2inch) and a baby false percula(1inch).. will the shrimp become a meal or will he be fine?

MoJoe · Aug 16, 2010

I have a Harlequin that I keep in my 55g. It goes through a sandsifter star every 3 weeks or so. They're fascinating to watch and they are so unique looking.

Mine doesn't eat the small asterina stars, but I've heard some may. If you're planning on one, I'd suggest seeing if they're eating them at the store before you take them home. One really crazy thing is the minute the shrimp start feeding on a star, all my asterina stars take to the glass, I used to think I only had a few, but I now know I have like a hundred. I think as the shrimp is eating the star it puts something into the water column that signals to the other stars.

The only fish you mentioned I be wary of is the baby flame hawk. Flames are cute as hell but they are pesky, mine would take down hermits easily as it got bigger. It's possible if the harlequin is bigger or the same size as the flame it won't think it's food. It's a tough call, it may work initially, as the flame gets bigger it might try to eat it, not sure.

I always catch mine on the hunt, it's amazing to watch them take down a star 3 times their size:

soccerbag · Aug 16, 2010

I've got a Flame Hawkfish and he never even looks at mine. Of course, each fish has his own personality...

Flats Man · Aug 16, 2010

thanks for the feed back hopefully here in the next month ill come up with the money and buy one.. any suggested cheap places or websites?

Flats Man · Aug 25, 2010

so i got my lil buddy today and at first i thought he waz dead, bag was freezing i put it in my tank to change the tempature quickly. after a couple of hours i pulled it out cuz he didnt make a move... until finally i cut open the bag scooped him with my finger to bring him to the surface and he zoomed away. so eventually i added him to the tank he hopped on my finger and i put him on my RBTA and i think it stung him, and now he is sittin up against a ricordea, he isnt dead.. but he hasnt moved in hours.. is this normal, i mean i expect a shrimp to just get out and go hide... maybe in shock?

ibefishy · Aug 25, 2010

I had one and it ate all the astrina stars it could find, eventually it ran out and I had to start taking them from the sump. Once those were pretty much all gone I gave it to a fellow reefer in our local club because he was having an astrina problem. I really enjoyed hand feeding stars to my shrimp. Watching him take them was cool.

Flats Man · Aug 25, 2010

do they host anemones? and if they do what anemones will host them?

Reef Goddess · Aug 26, 2010

They don't host anemones, porcelain crabs do. ;] But that's a different topic.

If the star fish on your rocks are actually mini brittle stars I doubt the harlequin will eat them as they feed exclusively on asterina type star fish. I have had a harlequin for a long time and he never bothers my mini brittle stars, serpent stars, or large brittle stars. Mini brittle stars are very beneficial, if those are what you have, you might try selling a bunch as a lot of people like them for starting their tanks. Its unusual to have an excess of mini brittle stars.

I mean this only in a nice way, but next time you need to remember to do all your research before you buy an animal. We all have made the same mistakes as beginners. There are many good articles out there covering most everything about reefing and reef creatures. ;]

Flats Man · Aug 26, 2010

yea i realized i got it confused with the sexy shrimp. but i put him in yesterday but he is up against 2 ricordeas with his fans under one and has not made a move in over 24hours? is that normal?