ID please

[ImACoolguy]

This little dude has been at the LFS for a while and since I'm starting saltwater I really like him. He is unmarked though so I don't have the slightest clue what he is.




Caleb

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[coralbandit]

Harlequin shrimp.
Eats ONLY starfish!
Many get one to combat astrea.

[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by coralbandit

Harlequin shrimp.
Eats ONLY starfish!
Many get one to combat astrea.

Thanks. Maybe I'll pass on him he sounds like an expensive eater lol.


Caleb

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[Toffee]

Expensive little thing to have...

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[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by Toffee

Expensive little thing to have...

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Yeah I'm going to pass on it lol. Beautiful but too expensive to feed.


Caleb

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[Toffee]

How much and how big is your LFS selling it？

The LFS here is selling them 40bucks for a size of a dime. That's on sale too！ I thought about having one if its not so expensive for that size. I can buy few starfish and chop one of the legs off and feed it. Starfish do heal their legs back.


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[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by Toffee

How much and how big is your LFS selling it？

The LFS here is selling them 40bucks for a size of a dime. That's on sale too！ I thought about having one if its not so expensive for that size. I can buy few starfish and chop one of the legs off and feed it. Starfish do heal their legs back.


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I haven't physically held it or anything but I would say almost quarter size. And like I said it's not even listed it's just in a tank. It's color sparked my curiosity.


Caleb

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[PassengerTN]

Funny, I was just recommending a friend of mine to get one of these a few days ago! She has a mini brittle star infestation but we don't think the Harlequin will eat them. She has literally pulled well over 100 stars out this week haha

[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by hensleyjk

Funny, I was just recommending a friend of mine to get one of these a few days ago! She has a mini brittle star infestation but we don't think the Harlequin will eat them. She has literally pulled well over 100 stars out this week haha

Dang! Well it's at The Aquarium in Knoxville :p


Caleb

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[Sniperhank]

These guys are starfish eating machines, but are a poor choice of a solution towards mini starfish infestations as once the problem is solved the harlequin will then starve to death.
When it comes to asterina star outbreaks, they can easily be siphoned out. When it comes to bristle stars, large numbers is a typical 'life stage' of some aquariums and an indicator of how much 'food' is in the water column. More food for anything to eat will result in more of the animal!
I had a huge outbreak of bristles in my tank in the early months-year. Hundreds and thousands of arms would come out everytime I fed the tank. As I began ratcheting down on the nutrient issues in my tank, the numbers dwindled until the only starfish in my tank is my green serpent.
As for using animals to battle issues in the aquarium, I will use my lawnmower blenny in my reef tank to help solve the algae issues that were going on. Lawnmower ate all day long, but still algae because the nutrients weren't addressed. It is still in the tank today, but sadly seems to be withering away...something that happens to lawnmowers even with algae/seaweed available in the tank.

[Toffee]

Hank, glad we got someone like you on this board. You are full of info to help us newbies. Thanks hank.

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[Sniperhank]

They are neat shrimp though. If someone wanted to keep them, you are on the right track. We had a member from several years ago that had them in a nano. In the sump of this tank he kept something like a dozen chocolate chip stars. When it was time to feed them, lopped off a leg and tossed it back in. He had enough that he was able to rotate through them without taking more than a leg off and it would be fully regrown by its time came again.

[ImACoolguy]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

They are neat shrimp though. If someone wanted to keep them, you are on the right track. We had a member from several years ago that had them in a nano. In the sump of this tank he kept something like a dozen chocolate chip stars. When it was time to feed them, lopped off a leg and tossed it back in. He had enough that he was able to rotate through them without taking more than a leg off and it would be fully regrown by its time came again.

That's totally cool. Maybe if I upgrade one day I'll do that because it's a beautiful little dude.


Caleb

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