harlequin shrimp question

[molsen187]

i've been reading a lot about these guys and am leaning towards getting one. my question is how bad do they pollute the water when they are eating the starfish? i have a 55g tank with trate trite and ammonia all at 0. i just wasn't sure if the ammonia level would go way up when they are eating or would it be negligible. any other info from people that own these guys would be appreciated.

 

[GaryDN]

I would think if you dont put more that the shrimp can eat in there you should be all set. kinda like not over feeding the fish. I know people cut off a piece of a star fish and feed them.

 

[125tank]

Agree. At 1 point i had 2 of them in my 125gl but 1 is gone now. Cut a piece off the star to feed the shrimp and throw the rest into your sump or a seperated tank, that's what im doing. of course regular water changes would help to keep ur water parameter stable too.

 

[molsen187]

i do water changes every week to two weeks. i don't really have a place i could put a starfish besides my dt. i have a hob refugium i could probably try him in. i'll probably have to put the whole star into the tank and let the shrimp go to town if i get them. would that cause huge ammonia spikes?

 

[this is me]

I used to have a pair of H.Shrimp. While they were beautiful and entertaining to watch, I never liked the idea of putting a live star fish and have the shrimp tear it apart(Actually, it was cool the first time). They're pretty smart animal. They will work on the legs first to keep the starfish alive then they go for the body.

After a couple of live star, it gets expensive, so I bought frozen starfish(most lfs have them because of DOA(dead on arrival) of their shipment), and cut a leg for them every week or so.

If you don't have asternia star problem in your tank, I would not recommend a harlequin. It gets expensive after awhile...

 

[jcallesano]

expensive indeed, $20 for each cocolate chip star to feed them. Cool criters though. They can fly too.

 

[jojo1n2]

i do water changes every week to two weeks. i don't really have a place i could put a starfish besides my dt. i have a hob refugium i could probably try him in. i'll probably have to put the whole star into the tank and let the shrimp go to town if i get them. would that cause huge ammonia spikes?

I had 1 for years, fed him every 2 weeks or so 1 chocolate chip at a time and never had any issues with ammonia, nitrate or trites.

 

[125tank]

expensive indeed, $20 for each cocolate chip star to feed them. Cool criters though. They can fly too.

$20 for a chocolate chip star :: ? wow! that's a rip off! the price range for a star around here is from $5-$10!

 

[molsen187]

thanks everyone. the ccs around me are from 5-10 too. i'm not worried about the price of the stars. i was more concerned with my levels going up when i fed them.

 

[Reefer140]

expensive indeed, $20 for each cocolate chip star to feed them. Cool criters though. They can fly too.

wow if your paying 20 for a chocolate star... ill sell you mine

but really.. they should only be about 8-10bucks