Harlequin Shrimp feeding Question

[exnisstech]

If you had to estimate...how many asterina's did it go through in a week? Just debating if this is worth it or not. Thanks

It's been a while so I really can't remember. It was in a 6ft 150 gallon tank and a single one cleared out all of the astsrina. It didn't take months or anything like that. As cool as they are I think they are more utilitarian and unless a person is 100 % committed to keeping stars on hand just to feed the shrimp I would make sure it can be returned once the problem stars are taken care of.

 

[exnisstech]

id make sure the shrimp get the starfish if you have a large tank. if they dont, you could wake up to your prized corals eaten. chocolate chip starfish are corallivores

I think if a person really wants to keep a harlequin a seperate tank to house stars for feeding would be best, unless of course it's a fowlr. As cool as they are for me it was just too much work. If I had one small tank to care for maybe but at the time I had a 150g and 180g saltwater sharing a sump, a 180g freshwater and a 43g cube salt as well and ATOs are my only automation and I was working at the time so I didn't keep my shrimp too long.

 

[Saltyanimals]

I started a linckia rescue thread elsewhere, but ran into this discussion. How long on average does it take for the chocolate chip to grow back the legs once amputated?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I started a linckia rescue thread elsewhere, but ran into this discussion. How long on average does it take for the chocolate chip to grow back the legs once amputated?

Really don't think you can get any estimate that would even be close on arm regeneration time for a star not only because it belongs to to a separate genus but also because arm regeneration time in an aquarium setting will likely be largely dictated by how optimal nutrition is...chocolate chips and Linckias have very different diets with Linckias having the more limited diet. The process takes a lot of energy and even in nature is a slow one. If i were you I'd really be focused on cleanly amputating those arms if that's the route you choose and crossing your fingers infection doesn't ensue. It'll be a beautiful creature with or without fully grown arms!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I started a linckia rescue thread elsewhere, but ran into this discussion. How long on average does it take for the chocolate chip to grow back the legs once amputated?

Agreed with livinlifeinBKK that regeneration time varies dependent on a number of factors, so I don’t know that an estimate would carry over well from one star to another.

That said, for a very rough estimate for most stars, from what I’ve heard, depending on conditions and the individual species, a healthy sea star should be able to start recovering from serious injuries (like lesions or lost limbs) within ~3 months. For full recovery from a serious injury, I’d guess a timeframe of ~6-9 months wouldn’t be too unrealistic. Again, though, this is a very rough estimate, and very dependent on a number of factors including the severity of the injury.

Now, with that out of the way, I’m hopeful someone will have a good answer to your question, because I’m curious if anyone has hands on experience with starfish regeneration for chocolate chip stars.

(As a side note here Saltyanimals, you could probably also ask the person whose Nardoa star regenerated limbs what the timeframe was for that - you can find them/their post in the quote I left on your Linckia rescue thread; the more data from the more species, the more likely you are to get an accurate estimate).

 

[Saltyanimals]

Thanks all. The injury and decay was fast acting and the star did not make it. However interesting to hear the perspective here.