Halequin Shrimps

[roidan]

then all i can say is that they are indeed fussy eaters....

with a palette for food more fussy than the royal family

but yeah....interesting but murderous shrimps....

[PBT]

here ar..can we breed harlequin shrimp?in our tank

[diabolus]

Yes, they only feed starfish and nothing else...

according to some reefers from the net, the adult HS sometimes do feed on urchins as well.

it will be wonderful if we can train them to feed on frozen mysis.

[Fireclown]

Am thinking of adding a pair to my mixed reef. How often do u feed them with starfishes. I understand that starfishes have the ability to regenerate their lost legs. Is it possible to let the shrimp feast on one of its leg, take the starfish out, and let it regenerate?

[FelixSu]

good idea by fire clown! anyone has any inputs?

[jc85]

The HS will finish the starfish b4 it can re-grow its legs.

[RockLobster]

Don't you guys feel it is very cruel when the shrimp is killing the starfish alive

Same as those people who eat frog porridge (the frogs are skinned alive!) or those people who feed live little frogs to arowana.

How about drunken prawns? Think they really drink merrily before dumped into hot water/soup?

Just my two cents; anyone here (including me) who bought HS are making an informed decision to do so.

[RockLobster]

Am thinking of adding a pair to my mixed reef. How often do u feed them with starfishes. I understand that starfishes have the ability to regenerate their lost legs. Is it possible to let the shrimp feast on one of its leg, take the starfish out, and let it regenerate?

My friend suggested that I have a star fish tank and once in a while take one out; snip off one leg and feed it to the HS; then put the starfish back.

Next week take another starfish out.. etc etc. But must make sure got enuff starfish to regenerate.

I think this is more cruel; in a perverted sorta way...

I rather the starfish just die instead of letting it recover and then purposely injure it again... but then thats me thinking.

[kareen]

Jun Hong, r u a buddhist like me? I find that cruel too that's why I will never buy them..... However, the killing will still be commit in other ways...... Eg. by drying the the live rock, harvesting the macro algae you grow in refugium, etc, etc. Just don't dwell on this matter else you will give up everything and become monk/nun.

[jc85]

Jun Hong, r u a buddhist like me? I find that cruel too that's why I will never buy them..... However, the killing will still be commit in other ways...... Eg. by drying the the live rock, harvesting the macro algae you grow in refugium, etc, etc. Just don't dwell on this matter else you will give up everything and become monk/nun.

Exactly.

[Ancelot]

Not to discourage everyone,

But the regenerating of legs for starfishes is a total hard to reach task for anybody right now..UNLESS you can commit a 6ft tank with nothing else than your starfishes without legs and let them regrow back. If you do not have such a tank, then dont think abt letting them regenerate cause they might just die off...

I have asked P.R. abt this question because i am currently designing a water project in my school to care for starfishes and horseshoe crabs. My idea was to bisect one starfish and let it grow into two starfishes. But what i got was it was impossible because of the high intense demand on water quality. therefore, i think it is kind of impossible to let starfishes grow back their legs should they have lost them..

Just my 2 cents worth...

However, i also hope someone is willing to prove me wrong. Thanks.. i always like to learn both the easy ways and the impossible ways. like NIKE has said "Impossible is nothing" so i hope there is someone out there willing to give this a shot and share with me the results. thanks

[RockLobster]

[snip]

like NIKE has said "Impossible is nothing" so i hope there is someone out there willing to give this a shot and share with me the results. thanks

Impossible is nothing sound more like addidas to me

[Melvyn Tan]

My previous Harlequin Shrimp, now in the stomach of my Trigger. This damn shrimp kill the entire linkia just to eat a little of the starfish....the remaining star just rots away and the HS just don't eat the dead star (fussy eaters)...tried the 2 and 3 time with smaller and live star...same thing happen and thereafter no star in stock and it went w/o food (except the dead star corpse) and by then too weak....decided to give my trigger a treat !!!

[Ancelot]

Impossible is nothing sound more like addidas to me

sorry for the wrong info..

but the spelling should be: A.D.I.D.A.S

because in long words..:

All Day I Dream About ###### = ADIDAS

[jc85]

My previous Harlequin Shrimp, now in the stomach of my Trigger. This damn shrimp kill the entire linkia just to eat a little of the starfish....the remaining star just rots away and the HS just don't eat the dead star (fussy eaters)...tried the 2 and 3 time with smaller and live star...same thing happen and thereafter no star in stock and it went w/o food (except the dead star corpse) and by then too weak....decided to give my trigger a treat !!!

U got a nice HS there.

Mine pair was like urs initially. But after a month or two later, they seems to learn how to not kil the starfish while eating. Maybe because I did not feed them immediately after they complete a starfish. Normally, I'll wait for a few days before feeding them again.

[spawns]

My previous Harlequin Shrimp, now in the stomach of my Trigger. This damn shrimp kill the entire linkia just to eat a little of the starfish....the remaining star just rots away and the HS just don't eat the dead star (fussy eaters)...tried the 2 and 3 time with smaller and live star...same thing happen and thereafter no star in stock and it went w/o food (except the dead star corpse) and by then too weak....decided to give my trigger a treat !!!

Maybe he/she is lonely

[kareen]

My idea was to bisect one starfish and let it grow into two starfishes/QUOTE]

Hello Ancelot,

Something new to me.... I thought the breaking of starfish legs is something like the lizard droping the tail..... didn't know that the leg can grow into another starfish.

BTW, is it so difficult for the starfish to regenerate the leg? I know it takes some time for the growing process...... When I first started the saltwater hobby (with little knowledge), had a starfish. The starfish lost one of its legs to anemone somehow (had to rescue the starfish before the anemone swallow it) and the lost leg just grew back after sometime. But I did dose some invertberate food for the starfish.....

[Ancelot]

Yes! in the wild, it is very possible to grow a starfish from just a leg. Miracle eh?

well.. do you notice any change in the size of your starfish? did it die or is it still alive? i need evidences to say that it lost a leg and regrew one and still alive till now..

[diabolus]

i did gave a 4 legged starfish to bro shawncel...

was at his place last week and i did notice a small stubble growing out. seems like the 5th leg is slowly regenerating.

you might wanna contact him if you need pics or watever.

[kareen]

well.. do you notice any change in the size of your starfish? did it die or is it still alive? i need evidences to say that it lost a leg and regrew one and still alive till now.. 

Sigh.... I wrote " when I first started the hobby" didn't I? The part B of the story is : I put him in the sump to recover, after recovered, dump him back to the main tank...... and after a while..... MIA. My guess is that the stupid starfish might have crawl into the stomach of anemone again.

[Ancelot]

Sigh.... I wrote " when I first started the hobby" didn't I? The part B of the story is : I put him in the sump to recover, after recovered, dump him back to the main tank...... and after a while..... MIA. My guess is that the stupid starfish might have crawl into the stomach of anemone again.

Sorry la.. i 4 eyed bungsat mahz.. paiseh lor..

So sad for the starfish..

but arent we off topic?

[RockLobster]

sorry for the wrong info..

but the spelling should be: A.D.I.D.A.S

because in long words..:

All Day I Dream About ###### = ADIDAS

Sorry sorry.

I my excitement, I did a typo