Tiny Harlequin Shrimp

[kkgaskin90]

My Harley has done a beautiful job of decimating my asterina population, but he's running out so I need to start thinking about getting him a real meal :) I've read chocolate chip starfish are the way to go... Is this true even if the shrimp is teeny? He's less than an inch.
Cut off a leg and toss it to him, or just let him go to town? I'd rather not put a star in that will eat my corals...

 

[KorL]

Haven't done myself but have heard of cutting a portion of the chocolate chip star and then putting the remaining star in the sump to use later

 

[afamousjohnson]

Ive ran a few methods. Started with giving a leg and with the rest - chopped it up and froze for later feeding. Worked but I never kept a harly long term with this method.
Started giving them the entire star (had a pair by this point) they would take it down no prob. In fact they would know it was there before they even saw it. One time tho - they didnt get it - woke the next morning with it wrapped around a huge validia tri color - coral was a gonner. It also tasted a couple smaller frags on the way to this one.
Liked the sump method of running a couple down there and cutting off a leg at a time. With rotation you can allow them to heal from cut and maybe re grow. Only prob I ran into here was it got into my pumps (return/skimmer) once or twice and messed it all up - star and pump

 

[kkgaskin90]

Ive ran a few methods. Started with giving a leg and with the rest - chopped it up and froze for later feeding. Worked but I never kept a harly long term with this method.
Started giving them the entire star (had a pair by this point) they would take it down no prob. In fact they would know it was there before they even saw it. One time tho - they didnt get it - woke the next morning with it wrapped around a huge validia tri color - coral was a gonner. It also tasted a couple smaller frags on the way to this one.
Liked the sump method of running a couple down there and cutting off a leg at a time. With rotation you can allow them to heal from cut and maybe re grow. Only prob I ran into here was it got into my pumps (return/skimmer) once or twice and messed it all up - star and pump

My fuge section is very small, and it's just one single Harlequin. I think I could keep the starfish in the fuge if it didn't go over the divider. What do you think?

Fuge is farthest to the right... Divided equally into front and back sections

 

[Psiber_Syn]

ive had my harley for a few months and yes they can jedi sense a piece of starfish dropped into the tank in seconds and to watch him drag a piece of starfish up a rock and mines has molted a few times also. But i will tell you this he is a voracious eater feed him 1chip off a choco starfish ever 3 or 4 days just regular palm size stars. and in the time i have had him he has eaten all the legs off 1 palm size and 2 coke can size chocos he has eaten faster than they can grow back so take that as you will but one of my fav residents in my tank

 

[Mattrg02]

Seems so zombie apocalypse....

 

[Psiber_Syn]

hes got plates on his claws like shields and 2 pointy chopstick like claws i assume is what he eats with

 

[afamousjohnson]

bet you'd be good keeping one in there to cut off

My fuge section is very small, and it's just one single Harlequin. I think I could keep the starfish in the fuge if it didn't go over the divider. What do you think?

Fuge is farthest to the right... Divided equally into front and back sections

 

[kkgaskin90]

I ended up getting 2 small CCs. I cut a leg off one and dropped it close to the Harlequin shrimp... Here's the time lapse of when he first gets hold of it:

 

[eliramos]

I want those shrimp so bad but I feel horrible cutting up a starfish lol
They have no brain right if my animal planet memory serves correctly haha so it can't be that bad!

 

[kkgaskin90]

I want those shrimp so bad but I feel horrible cutting up a starfish lol
They have no brain right if my animal planet memory serves correctly haha so it can't be that bad!

Correct, they have no brain. There are mixed reviews on whether or not they feel pain as far as I can tell. Makes me feel a bit guilty, but not guilty enough to let my Harley slowly starve

 

[JerryO]

Any cheap starfish will do but I used Chocolate Chips because my LFS ordered them for me and would sell them to me at his cost if I picked up on the day he recieved them and didn't aclimate into his system. He would charge $3 each and one would last a couple of weeks for 2 Harlequins. and I did a leg at a time. Funny how they would sense or smell they where in the tank because they would immediately start waving their claws and search for it. Once every few months I would give them a whole one to watch them wrestle with it. They are very cool. I actually caught mine on Maui off the rock at Makena.

 

[rosieosieee]

I've been trying to diversify and be very regular about my feedings. since it's not a daily thing, maybe set a reminder on your phone for every two-three weeks or however frequent you'd like to feed.

if you're worried about feeding a whole non reef safe star fish, put your shrimp AND the star in the sump while he eats, then throw your shrimp back up top when he's done with his meal. I originally started doing this because they leave the starfish "skeleton" behind and I have black sand- it made a mess.

I know a person who bought 20 CCs to keep in his sump and just rotate through legs. they just DONT regenerate fast enough for how much your shrimp needs to eat. he'd make them tripods and then just feed the whole thing.

the first one I ever had I trained on frozen. he ate legs no problem, but he did die prematurely. I can't 100% for sure say it was the food source though. just an experience.

although I usually buy whatever is cheapest, I do make a point to change it up. my local LFS sells astrinas 12/$5. obviously CCs are usually cheap, and I've found linkias for $10 at swaps.

always check your local groups and forums. a TON of people buy non reef safe starfish unknowingly and just want to get rid of them ASAP. perfect harley food. also, hit up your reefing friends! I have a few friends who have astrinas everywhere but do not have a shrimp. they happily give me handfuls every time i visit. I throw them into my sump so they can attempt to repopulate and I can keep track of how many I drop in and what the shrimp is actually consuming.

lastly, pay attention to him! most harlequins will hide while they are happy and full. if you see him out crawling around the front of the tank, he's begging for food! just because he's tiny, doesn't mean he has a voracious appetite! i remember the first time I fed my little guy an entire CC. the star was climbing up the wall, upside down, while the shrimp (no bigger than one of his legs) was riding on top of him eating him. lol.

 

[Philt56]

Do you need to remove what's left of the starfish after the shrimp is done eating it to prevent pollution?

 

[kkgaskin90]

Mine finished the leg last night. Anything he left the hermits and snails took care of.

Any hints on what to use to cut the leg off? I used some heavy duty scissors, but it was rough!

 

[Psiber_Syn]

Bone cutters or flat wire cutters work for me. I have found if you leave 1 chip on the leg they recover faster IMO also if you cut to deep and expose the inside of the star it will die quickly also fyi hold your thumb over the top center when cutting have had water shoot out in my face more than once lol

 

[kkgaskin90]

How long do you let them go between feelings? He finished his leg night before last and he's back in that corner like he's begging for more [emoji23]

 

[iretthepirate]

I didn't trust chocolate (they can eat coral) in my tank even though I had 2 decent sized harlequins i'm sure they could have handled it but since yours is so small I'd just chop off a leg for him

 

[roman1]

I cut off legs and if it doesn't generate fast enough I take bone cutters And cut through midsection and the shrimp comes out right away and drags him back to eat.

 

[Psiber_Syn]

I cut the legs off of a few stars rotating every time i give my harley 1 day searching for a star has kept all asterinas out of the tank so far he roams the tank for a day then i drop in a piece of leg i had a star not recover so i froze it in pieces wrapped in tin foil mine eats them just fine and others can feed it when your not home dont even have to thaw it really drop one "starfish-pill" in and forget it