Harlequin Shrimp....

[Toutouche]

Concerning the CC starfish, yes some people will use these to feed them, however, it is not the right type. Someting about the skin on these being too tough, or just simply the wrong type. I honestly don't remember what the reasoning was, but it was specified that they are not good for the harlequins. Also, yes apparantly they will tend to target the linkias in the wild, and is what their natural diet consists of.
Yes, you put the whole star in the tank with them, and NOT just a cutoff leg. They need the star to be alive, otherwise they will not feed on it. Strange and cruel as it is, but true as it is with any predator, the food has to be alive.

 

[Anonymous]

I believe in the wild they feed on linkia, another genus (sorry, I forget) and crown-of-thorn starfish. Supposedly some people have had success feeding frozen pieces of northern starfish to them, altho I haven't tried it.

BTW, they will also annoy cukes. I had to move mine into the refugia, because they used to sit on it and try to eat the tube feed, I think.

 

[ophiuroid]

People have successfully fed harlequins chocolate chip stars for a long time. They have fed them arms. They have fed them frozen bits. They have had no problems.

The most ecologically friendly stars to feed these guys are the small Asterina stars that people have...they reproduce readily in a refugium or sump, and people are always trying to get rid of them. If money is your only concern, then that is the cheapest road :roll:

The next friendliest thing to do is to keep chocolate chips in a refugium or sump, and cut off arms. Harsh, but true. Feed the stars so they can regenerate the arms. Again, a cheap option. This will not work with delicate stars like Linckia.

The next best thing is freezing the stars, and feeding the arms. This makes the best use of one star.

The least ecologically friendly thing to do is feed stars whose wild populations are highly pressured because of this, and other hobbies, this includes Linckia. Apart from the dismal survival record in this hobby, take a look in any shell shop or craft store and see how many Linckia you can spot. Multiply that by every shell shop in every smarmy beach town in the US...and the world.

There are plenty of animals in our tanks that do not get exactly what they eat in the wild. There are plenty of animals sharing close space that do not live within thousands of miles of one another. Please don't use the argument that they need Linckia stars because that is their natural diet. Doesn't stop us with most other things. They clearly eat other species of stars, and some other species (Asterina in particular) are more responsible (and cheaper) choices.

However, I am quite opposed to keeping something with such a specialized diet simply because they are pretty :roll: But we all have choices.

I am not opposed to animals that eat other animals, and am tired of that argument with respect to harlequins. Just spend some time thinking about the different options in what to feed them. Some options are more responsible than others. We all have choices.

 

[Will C1]

well said, i would vote for choc chip stars there easy to care for and will grow back arms quickly, also i have witnessed them eating them so i know they will.

 

[trigger0214]

Hmmm...Usually when people feed live foods to their fish and/or invertebrates they are killed relatively quickly. I would have a problem cutting off the tail off a goldfish, feeding the tail to my lionfish, and waiting for the goldfish to propagate a new tail to feed to the lion. Or in this case, the starfish. Although, there is a sort of fuzzy line between cutting up corals to propagate them, and cutting up a starfish....



Ahh, crap. My organ clone broke his chains again. Brb…
...

 

[Will C1]

my friend used to cut off 2 arms and put it back in the sump a month later he would cut 2 more arms by the time he got back around to the other side they were grown back.

 

[ophiuroid]

Hmmm...Usually when people feed live foods to their fish and/or invertebrates they are killed relatively quickly. I would have a problem cutting off the tail off a goldfish, feeding the tail to my lionfish, and waiting for the goldfish to propagate a new tail to feed to the lion. Or in this case, the starfish. Although, there is a sort of fuzzy line between cutting up corals to propagate them, and cutting up a starfish....

It is a less than ideal solution (cutting up choc chip stars) to a completely unnecessary problem (keeping animals with highly specialized diets). No arguments there. I would emphasize the "unnecessary problem" part too.

 

[tazdevil]

Danconner posted:

and crown-of-thorn starfish

Now there's one star that I don't think many reefkeepers would mind seeing a decrease in their wild numbers. Look at what it has done to the reefs in Australia! Very hardy nasty species-apparently you can hack them to small bits, and all the small bits will become new crown of thorn's, eating more coral.

 

[ophiuroid]

Crown of thorns seastars are a normal, natural part of the Indo-Pacific coral reef ecosystem. And it was humans who were stupid enough not to learn from the past- many stars, in the wild, with appropriate diets, can be cut up into pieces and survive quite nicely. Linckia comes to mind, as do the Asterias sp stars that are common on oyster beds. The same mistake- cutting them up- had been made before. The bloom of Acanthaster, and the decline in coral reefs in general, may all be influenced by man's activities in that area. One animal came to benefit- the seastar- while others did not - the corals. But nature often takes care of these problems in the long run, and she certainly doesn't need hobbyists helping out. I believe recreational 'hobby' divers helped by chopping many of those things up in the first place.

IMO, many reefkeepers could seem to care less about the decline of wild populations of many animals. If there is one that is safe because they don't care to keep it, I don't have any complaints. It is the beautiful one's that are at the greatest risk.