Harlequin shrimp appetite

[Tommy's Reef]

How often are you feeding your harlequin shrimp Starfish? Mine eat like crazy
Wondering if I should cut them back a bit?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

How often are you feeding your harlequin shrimp Starfish? Mine eat like crazy
Wondering if I should cut them back a bit?

I always give them a starfish to “work on” at all times. Echinoderms don’t have a lot of food value, and it is difficult to judge how much food the shrimp need. You can’t overfeed the shrimp, but it can get expensive to feed them.

I’ve also had the shrimp sort of keep a starfish upside down so it can’t get away and then feed on it gradually over time.

Jay

 

[Stomatopods17]

I typically go by whenever they come out.

Harlequins will walk around the tank if they're hungry, hunting for food. Otherwise they stick to their den.

For mine I usually wait a week before giving them another star/leg once the first is finished, they usually come out in the open around then.

I wouldn't go over 7 days, but you don't have to worry about starving them as inverts are very tolerant of fasting, especially around molts or eggs, harlequins are fairly low metabolism. As long as they had a good meal previously they won't be lethargic (they won't survive on an asterina a day, more like 10-15 a day to suffice).

 

[VintageReefer]

I was feeding mine an arm every 2-3 days and he would come out when he was done. I skipped one day and the next day when I had more and he wasn’t out and I never saw him again.

I think they can starve pretty quickly if they don’t have the tiny ones to snack on

 

[Doctorgori]

I appreciate this thread @Tommy's Reef and those who input

…I had/have a asterina explosion so I got a pair of harlequins to “process” the excess starfish…
Anyway, I was wondering if the supply can keep up with demand

lethargic (they won't survive on an asterina a day, more like 10-15 a day to suffice).

I got a similar answer earlier, this confirms it….

OP someone in a previous thread suggested you can actually freeze starfish parts….The thread is somewhere around here …I found it useful …
Also Might be useful if someone could give collection tips, I have zero clue how or where to get live starfish

 

[twentyleagues]

I found in the past people get tired of you wanting to come over and pick starfish out of their tanks even if they are charging you. If that gives you an idea of how fast a pair can go through 100 or so. Even the lfs in my area got to the point they wanted to charge $1 each. Plus that became like a second job for me. I started buying cc stars at $15-$20 each about once a month (more like every 2 weeks). Not only did my pair decimate my issue they pretty much handled 2 or 3 reefs in the area from me picking starfish for them in about a year. I set up a 30g tank tied into the main system so the cc stars didnt bother any corals while the shrimp were full.

 

[VintageReefer]

Most LFS can get the cc stars for 10-15$ each. Each harlequin will eat one medium cc star a week

 

[Tommy's Reef]

Thanks for the post guys, so I've had them for 8 months now, they will eat a full size sand sifting star in about 8 days and so I've been feeding 2 stars a month. They go like 6 days between meals and so far so good. But my best intrest is in the survival of the animal, so thanks for the thoughts on this. I think I will be freezing a chocolate chip star and feeding a arm or 2 between regular feedings just to keep them plump.

 

[Stomatopods17]

I got a similar answer earlier, this confirms it….

Its impossible to keep them on purely asterinas.

That was a project of mine at one point, 300 population vanished faster than it could be replenished. The volume of a linckia or CC starfish compared to an asterina puts into perspective just how much they need to not starve off them.

OP someone in a previous thread suggested you can actually freeze starfish parts….The thread is somewhere around here …I found it useful …

Another project I did; conclusion: Don't.

The longest I've had H. picta on the frozen diet was approximately 3-6 months, and that was an average for all H. Picta I've kept on frozen diets. It was easy to fall into the trap thinking frozen was working due to the feeding responses/length of time but ultimately it became clear how different frozen fed harlequins were from live/rotation leg fed ones.

When thawing starfish, the proteins harlequins need break part, the issue is we don't know which proteins they actually need so we can't exactly figure out what makes the starfish diet so exclusive to them. Harlequins on frozen would get more easily blown by pumps and sucked by intakes, this equipment was never changed and there was never a single causality for the ones on the non-frozen diet while they didn't seem phased by the water flow either. Frozen fed H. picta were just 'weaker' and really seemed like they were as fragile as they looked while normal fed ones held their own in surprising situations (I seen one chase off an emerald crab bothering it and succeed somehow).

 

[Doctorgori]

When thawing starfish, the proteins harlequins need break part, the issue is we don't know which proteins they actually need so we can't exactly figure out what makes the starfish diet so exclusive to them. Harlequins on frozen would get more easily blown by pumps and sucked by intakes, this equipment was never changed and there was never a single causality for the ones on the non-frozen diet while they didn't seem phased by the water flow either. Frozen fed H. picta were just 'weaker' and really seemed like they were as fragile as they looked while normal fed ones held their own in surprising situations (I seen one chase off an emerald crab bothering it and succeed somehow).

Somehow that all sounds weird but totally plausible …I long noticed frozen “meat” looses certain liquids or put another way, certain nutrients just can’t do a freeze-thaw cycle and remain intact ….
I have added 3 small chocolate chips to the sump but I also have a near unlimited supply of pest starfish ..

 

[twentyleagues]

Somehow that all sounds weird but totally plausible …I long noticed frozen “meat” looses certain liquids or put another way, certain nutrients just can’t do a freeze-thaw cycle and remain intact ….
I have added 3 small chocolate chips to the sump but I also have a near unlimited supply of pest starfish ..

They will be limited in a short time with a harley.