- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
For those who own Harlequin shrimps how much of starfish do they eat per week ....
How much doe a Harlequin Shrimp eats?
- Thread starter Aqua Pro Builder
- Start date
- Location
- Philippines
one :starfish: per montH...
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
when it's out of say, a chocolate star, would they go after the small bristle stars or such?
- Location
- Tobyhanna, PA
I know if I put a big CC star it would take about a month. But if the CC stars are small, less than a month! These guys have an appetite...LOL I have not seen any asterinas ever since I had these guys.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
so I guess my observation seems correct that they don't go after small brittle stars.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
LOL
Being a technical background person, I have to see it in to believe it. Do they call that experiment in the schools?:tongueani
Being a technical background person, I have to see it in to believe it. Do they call that experiment in the schools?:tongueani
:groupflip Once again...Welcome to Manhattan Reefs!! That observation has been reiterated here during almost every Harlequin shrimp thread.
p.s. Just messing with you, Wingo
As beautiful as it is do yourself a favor and forget buying one.In my opinion they are a Pain in the A...
If the starfish is small you will need more than one a month.You will then or beforehand be forced to look for one before the food supply runs out.You might have to go to two or three lfs to find a starfish.Gas and aggravation!!! If you have serpent sea stars kiss them goodbye too.Fair game!!
Plus the shrimp is reefsafe but chocolate chip starfishes aren't.The one you put in won't bother anything because he will be immediately eaten but if you plan on buying more that one starfish to have one as a reserve you stand a chance of having your corals damaged by the starfish.
Just my opinion and you are free to do what you want but part of what I'm telling you is from personal experience.
If the starfish is small you will need more than one a month.You will then or beforehand be forced to look for one before the food supply runs out.You might have to go to two or three lfs to find a starfish.Gas and aggravation!!! If you have serpent sea stars kiss them goodbye too.Fair game!!
Plus the shrimp is reefsafe but chocolate chip starfishes aren't.The one you put in won't bother anything because he will be immediately eaten but if you plan on buying more that one starfish to have one as a reserve you stand a chance of having your corals damaged by the starfish.
Just my opinion and you are free to do what you want but part of what I'm telling you is from personal experience.
Not a pain for me.
I have a Serpant...no problems at all.
I keep 3 Chocolate chip stars in my sump. I don't have to go crazy looking for 1. Food supply for 3 months.
No damage to corals.
If fed whole, the Harley never lets the starfish go for it to cause any damage to corals.
You can always serve it 1 leg at a time:starfish:
I have a Serpant...no problems at all.
I keep 3 Chocolate chip stars in my sump. I don't have to go crazy looking for 1. Food supply for 3 months.
No damage to corals.
If fed whole, the Harley never lets the starfish go for it to cause any damage to corals.
You can always serve it 1 leg at a time:starfish:
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
As always, I have a sump keeping all unwanted and hated animals as always so stocking CC stars should be no problem. I don't think the CC reproduce readily.:inlove: So I guess I should be safe. However, my formia does have a form like the CC, so it looks like it will have to stay in the sump instead of what I have a big wish of it to show it's beauty in the DT.
I think it's cruel and stupid to rip apart a whole bunch of live starfish to feed ONE stupid little shrimp, especially for people who love reef animals like hopefully everyone in this hobby does...I would feel so bad doing that...
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
it sucks but its part of nature. =0) I have to feed my octopus live crabs and such and i feel bad putting them in but its the way of life. Thye rip apart a cow to feed you one burger. rest goes into the fridge till you want more. Same thing with the star. :chefico:
Wingo, they can go a month without food. max i heard before they started showing signs of starvation or death was 2 months (not actual death). a full grown pair will go through a full sized cc starfish (about 5-6") in two weeks, all depending on how fed they are. Usually after a month of not feeding they will tear through the starfish in a few days. Keep them fed every 2 weeks, they will hold onto it and eat as they are hungry. Once its done you have a week or two to add another. There was a short study on their feeding patterns but you gotto look it up. 1 4" CC star per 2-3 weeks is the general rule for a pair.
They will go for CC stars readily and go for sand sifters right away, usually smell the sand sifters quicker than the CC stars. My guess is its a dirty eater, something with proteins and more nutrients in the star. the usual pattern is Sand sifter, then CC then linkia. Serpents and fromia starfish they tend to leave alone unless really hungry. Ive had a pair of fromia in my tank that mine never touched untill i forgot to feed them for a month. Even then they just ate the legs of one and left the rest alone then were crawling on the tank during the day asking for food.
Hope that helps.
Wingo, they can go a month without food. max i heard before they started showing signs of starvation or death was 2 months (not actual death). a full grown pair will go through a full sized cc starfish (about 5-6") in two weeks, all depending on how fed they are. Usually after a month of not feeding they will tear through the starfish in a few days. Keep them fed every 2 weeks, they will hold onto it and eat as they are hungry. Once its done you have a week or two to add another. There was a short study on their feeding patterns but you gotto look it up. 1 4" CC star per 2-3 weeks is the general rule for a pair.
They will go for CC stars readily and go for sand sifters right away, usually smell the sand sifters quicker than the CC stars. My guess is its a dirty eater, something with proteins and more nutrients in the star. the usual pattern is Sand sifter, then CC then linkia. Serpents and fromia starfish they tend to leave alone unless really hungry. Ive had a pair of fromia in my tank that mine never touched untill i forgot to feed them for a month. Even then they just ate the legs of one and left the rest alone then were crawling on the tank during the day asking for food.
Hope that helps.
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
oh and they will destroy your asternia star population real quick. which is a good thing.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
I have a couple of large serpents and a couple of large brittles in the tank with my 2 harlequins. They don't bother them at all (not thier taste).
We keep the starfish in the fuge (though I think it would be better to store it in a separate system because they smell it better when you first add it to your system and if it has been in the system a while they lose the ability to find it quickly).
You can actually freeze them too and they eat them just as well. In the summer we pull up some starfish from the bay and freeze them for meals on the go.
The pair take one huge or 2-4 small over the course of a month. You cannot rely on them to decimate an asterina population. They would starve to death first.
We keep the starfish in the fuge (though I think it would be better to store it in a separate system because they smell it better when you first add it to your system and if it has been in the system a while they lose the ability to find it quickly).
You can actually freeze them too and they eat them just as well. In the summer we pull up some starfish from the bay and freeze them for meals on the go.
The pair take one huge or 2-4 small over the course of a month. You cannot rely on them to decimate an asterina population. They would starve to death first.
- Location
- Staten Island
Good info, Phyl. I never would have thought of freezing them. Makes buying & storing much easier. It's ginda gross but do you freeze the entire starfish or cut the legs first and then feed?
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