Hey I got a Harlequin Shrimp and have been feeding him a chocolate chip star every month or so. It usually takes him 2-4 week to finish and then see him wonder around the front of the tank 2 weeks after meal. Chocolate chip stars are usually $5-$10 USD so it gets quite expensive after a while. I feel like a cheaper way is to breed Asterina stars to keep him fed for a while and get a chocolate chip star after like 2-3 months to get Asterina star multiplying again. I have never encountered a Asterina star in my tank (crazy huh?) so I wonder how fast they reproduce. Thinking of 2-10 gallons for the breeding tank. Any other tips would be great. Thank you ahead of time!
Asterina Star Reproduction?
- Thread starter shrimped
- Start date
- Tagged users None
watdachuck
Valuable Member
My only experience with Asterinas was a bad on IMO. Once you have a decent population they could multiply fast enough for a Harlequin assuming it has a taste for Asterina. I saw I had a bad experience because I was not happy the Asterinas went after my coralline algae, and I do believe started eating my SPS as well.
If you are planning to add them to your display I would just confirm the shrimp will eat them in advance.
If you are planning to add them to your display I would just confirm the shrimp will eat them in advance.
OP
OP
shrimped
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
- Messages
- 848
- Reaction score
- 579
Never heard of a harlequin that don't eat asterinas. Hope your SPS makes a recovery. Yea I'll get a Asterina from a friend's tank and test if the harlequin will eat it. Thank you for your reply!
ThunderGoose
Well-Known Member
Inland Aquatics sells "micro" stars (Asterinas). Might be a good place to get starters for a home culture.
If you do manage to get them reproducing for you it would make a good write up for others who are also wanting to keep Harlequin shrimp but not spend so much on starfish.
If you do manage to get them reproducing for you it would make a good write up for others who are also wanting to keep Harlequin shrimp but not spend so much on starfish.
OP
OP
shrimped
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
- Messages
- 848
- Reaction score
- 579
Yea a little info article would be pretty neat. I agree Harlequin Shrimps are probably one of the nicest Shrimps I have ever seen in the aquarium trade but the only downside is the care and cost.
Bret Brinkmann
Well-Known Member
I had asterina stars in my tank but a crab ate them all. The blue ones I saw eating my coraline but the tan ones only ever ate algae. Even saw a tan one crawl over my hydnophora without bothering it. Never saw a blue one get close to the hydnophora though. The blue ones bred fast but the tan ones never multiplied. Eventually the crab ate them all anyway. You will need to get a lot of coraline growing if you are to breed asterinas. Would love to see someone do it though. I suspect you may need more like 20 gallons to get enough for even one Harlequin. I hear they only eat the tube feet not the whole starfish.
OP
OP
shrimped
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
- Messages
- 848
- Reaction score
- 579
So they only eat coralline Algae? I was thinking of putting some live rock, sand, and some Mysis shrimp from time to time. I got Algae wafers too. Also I guess I'm pretty lucky that my harlequin Shrimp eats the whole seastar.
Bret Brinkmann
Well-Known Member
Mine never ate my hydnophora. But I never saw a blue one get near it. I have heard of claims that they eat other corals but I am not sure which ones or if they ate it because their was no coraline for them to eat. I only verified what one other member told me; the blue ones eat coraline, which I saw myself, and the tan ones eat algae, which I saw myself. Never saw the tan ones eat coraline and never saw the blue ones eat algae. I do miss my tan ones though. I would love to get some more.
Reefbuds
Valuable Member
I am thinking about getting a Harliquin just for this purpose. A month ago I noticed a handful, maybe 5 to 10 stars at the most. I looked the other day and spotted at least 20 so they are starting to reproduce fairly quickly the larger the population gets. I think a harlequin could live forever off the population I have right now as they reproduce fairly quickly. I don't think he could catch up to wipe them out.
I had a out 200 Asterinas 2 months ago when I got my Harlequin...I can barely find any to grab and feed him with my poker stick. Ive seen him carry 3 at a time back to his hideout after watching him eat 2 on the way to get them. So even starting with 200 they dont reproduce fast enough to feed one harlequin for more than 2 months. If I would have known, I would have thrown about 50 in my fuge to reproduce safely or bought a large starfish every month?
