Feeding harlequin shrimp

[sp1187]

the tank is 30" deep.
starfish tried to make a run for it.
Harlie wasn't having it.

 

[JMM744]

Here is a rather long video so you might just check it out and cut it short. It shows how tenacious these shrimp can be when food is presented.

 

[Idoc]

here’s a time lapse i made of mine eating

Those things really like starfish legs!

 

[stanleo]

This might be a dumb idea but I would think allowing the legs to regenerate would take too long to make that a viable option. Could you start a small tank, say 10 gallons with just live rock and algae, throw a handful of asterinas in there, let them multiply for a few weeks and then just feed the shrimp five a day or so? You could even take five, cut them in half, feed one half and throw the other back in the asterina tank. I would think it would take months to go through all the starfish. My last tank was riddled with those things and I would take out 50 a week and never made a dent.

 

[reef lover]

Asternias are more of a snack and dont contain many of the tube feet that they eat.
I tried having 5 stars and just cutting legs but they didnt regenerate fast enough to make it plausible.

 

[Sven57]

I got mine to clear out hundeds of asterinas in my 120. Most are gone and I just fed it a chocolate chip star. Good size star and it took a week to eat it.