Should I be concerned? Harlequin Shrimp

[RiftWalker]

Looking for a Harlequin Shrimp and found a pet store selling at a 110 AED. Asked what they feed cause I'm looking for Asterina stars. And this is the response I got? Should I be concerned?

 

[MERKEY]

The person you spoke to just has 0 knowledge about them.

A lot of LFS have 0 clue of what they are selling and just do it to make money.

Would I be concerned...no

Would I take advice from that person...no

 

[RiftWalker]

The person you spoke to just has 0 knowledge about them.

A lot of LFS have 0 clue of what they are selling and just do it to make money.

Would I be concerned...no

Would I take advice from that person...no

Figured, cheapest harlequin I could find though. Should I get one as a form of "aquarium rescue" (I know that sounds cringe but kinda the truth)? They look ok for now.

 

[MERKEY]

If you need one to clear your star problem then yes I'd get one.

But once your astrinias are gone you will need to feed it chocolate chip stars are some other sort of star fish.

We ended up getting a pair and feed them every couple weeks with a chocolate star. If astrinias pop up we hold on feeding the chocolate star and let them clear the astrinias. We just keep the chocolate stars in the sump until they need to feed.

To know which shrimp are female you have to look under their tail. Males have are all white under their tail and females have blue spots under their tail just like on their bodies.

I would save a pair from them lol

 

[SlugSnorter]

Figured, cheapest harlequin I could find though. Should I get one as a form of "aquarium rescue" (I know that sounds cringe but kinda the truth)? They look ok for now.

do you have any way of feeding them? Im not sure they can last off of just astrina stars. They will easily chew through all in that 25 gallon. Can you obtain choco chip starfish weekly?

 

[RiftWalker]

do you have any way of feeding them? Im not sure they can last off of just astrina stars. They will easily chew through all in that 25 gallon. Can you obtain choco chip starfish weekly?

No asterinas, checking with chocolate chip right now, what about red loded starfish

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

They’ll eat most starfish as long as it moves relatively quickly (they don’t go for things like cushion stars). The nutrition of each star you could offer them is different, but the best ones are expensive and not ones we can keep alive in our tanks (Linkia multifora being the preferred species by harlequin shrimp breeders). Most people offer chocolate chip and sand sifting stars since they’re the cheapest. I’m not sure how good they are nutritionally (no one ever seems to follow up with how their harlequins are doing on these diets), but I assume they’re alright.

 

[SlugSnorter]

No asterinas, checking with chocolate chip right now, what about red loded starfish

Any starfish will do, (long as its not super toxic and nukes your tank). Keep in mind its good to feed the shrimp regularly, so make sure you can afford the time and money to get starfish weekly or bi-weekly (depending on how voracious your shrimp is). The shrimp will eat the starfish alive and keep it alive as long as possible, so decay shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

[RiftWalker]

Thank you all, thoughts on Sand-sifting starfish. They are the cheapest starfish I can get. Also, I just think Asterina Stars are impossible to get in Dubai. If anyone in the forum lives in Dubai and has Asterina stars, please contact me.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Thank you all, thoughts on Sand-sifting starfish. They are the cheapest starfish I can get. Also, I just think Asterina Stars are impossible to get in Dubai. If anyone in the forum lives in Dubai and has Asterina stars, please contact me.

Asterina stars are tiny and are (for the most part) seen as pests. There are a few Asterina star species, some are believed to eat coralline and corals. I have not seen any tank (even larger ones) that have enough Asterinas to support a Harly (the harly will be fine for a bit, but will quickly kill all the Asterina). Sand sifting stars should be fine.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Any starfish will do, (long as its not super toxic and nukes your tank). Keep in mind its good to feed the shrimp regularly, so make sure you can afford the time and money to get starfish weekly or bi-weekly (depending on how voracious your shrimp is). The shrimp will eat the starfish alive and keep it alive as long as possible, so decay shouldn't be much of an issue.

I’ve watched these videos and it always seems like such a horrible way to go

 

[RiftWalker]

These stars would work?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

All of those should work - the ones with the brown spines on top are the chocolate chip starfish, the sand sifter is in the bottom left corner. The one's with 6 legs in the top left corner look like "Purple Linckia" starfish from what I can tell. I'm not aware of anyone that's had experience feeding the purple linckias to their Harlequins, but they would probably be good feed (just expensive).

 

[SlugSnorter]

These stars would work?

the last one is a choco chip star. I would recommend that the most.

 

[RiftWalker]

Ok everyone I have good news. I found a guy who is giving me Asterina stars for free. So that's great. But when I get the Harlequin, I will get a choco-chip. ONly one question, I have a seachem tidal which is modified with carbon and filter floss. I have another smaller H.O.B. Is it possible for me to put the Asterinas in them for them to reproduce? I am setting up a fuge in the summer. I can put macroalgae in the other H.O.B

 

[SlugSnorter]

Ok everyone I have good news. I found a guy who is giving me Asterina stars for free. So that's great. But when I get the Harlequin, I will get a choco-chip. ONly one question, I have a seachem tidal which is modified with carbon and filter floss. I have another smaller H.O.B. Is it possible for me to put the Asterinas in them for them to reproduce? I am setting up a fuge in the summer. I can put macroalgae in the other H.O.B

even with a fuge, there will not be enough to sustain the Harly, it will still need to be feed larger starfish like the choco chips, sifters, etc.

 

[RiftWalker]

even with a fuge, there will not be enough to sustain the Harly, it will still need to be feed larger starfish like the choco chips, sifters, etc.

Ok, yea that's the plan. I do have my old tank sitting around, could I breed asterinas in it?

 

[RiftWalker]

UPDATE

Got 1 of the Harlequins, looks healthy. Also got a CC Star. Got them both yesterday. After adding them, the Harlequin roamed around for a bit and ended up kicking my clown out of its den. I was scared that the clown would attack but it just accepted and now just swims on the rockwork nearby. It's been a night and today morning, Harlequin still looks fine. When can I expect it to hunt for the CC star?

 

[i cant think]

UPDATE

Got 1 of the Harlequins, looks healthy. Also got a CC Star. Got them both yesterday. After adding them, the Harlequin roamed around for a bit and ended up kicking my clown out of its den. I was scared that the clown would attack but it just accepted and now just swims on the rockwork nearby. It's been a night and today morning, Harlequin still looks fine. When can I expect it to hunt for the CC star?

You’ll find the Harley Quinn will hunt for the CC star when it gets hungry or when it settles in.

 

[RiftWalker]

You’ll find the Harley Quinn will hunt for the CC star when it gets hungry or when it settles in.

Ok, currently, CC is on the glass, should I remove it and put it next to the Harley's den or just leave it?