asterinas stars eating my zoos!

[smoq]

Pretty much. Now he even goes to the glass and picks Em right off!! I still have ALOT of stars but notice a difference. I watched him use his to legs to kinda peel the star from the glass now he always has one with him eating lol. Coolest shrimp EVER!

Wait till you see him getting to chocolate chip starfish, it's amazing how much energy he has to pull it off the glass. Definitely one of the coolest animals to watch in the hobby.

 

[brunoboarder2444]

wow, that's a lot. Think of it as a month worth of food for the harlequin. They are fantastic creatures and I love keeping them, but they're tend to be expensive to keep if your asterina population don't replenish itself fast enough

if you can pick up a few chocolate chip stars at a time and cut them into 5 pieces(1 for each leg) they will replenish the rest of their bodies over time and you can keep doing the process and multiply them to give you an unlimited supply....if you started out with like 5 or so stars and cut them up and stored them in your sump it will most definitely work and just feed the shrimp 1 leg a week

 

[bigcapct]

I have some in my fowlr tank

 

[jcdeng]

I only see like 2 to 3 asterinas in my tank, should I still get the harlequin shrimp? I don't want to stave the little guy.

 

[bigcapct]

I wouldn't yet unless ur ready to buy a start fish for it on a regular basis. Here's mine getting bizzy.

 

[yesjenks]

I wouldn't yet unless ur ready to buy a start fish for it on a regular basis. Here's mine getting bizzy. View attachment 126405

+1 but keep a close eye. They can it a crazy amount of zoas in a VERY short time period.

 

[Marteen]

if you can pick up a few chocolate chip stars at a time and cut them into 5 pieces(1 for each leg) they will replenish the rest of their bodies over time and you can keep doing the process and multiply them to give you an unlimited supply....if you started out with like 5 or so stars and cut them up and stored them in your sump it will most definitely work and just feed the shrimp 1 leg a week

You need to have excellent water parameters for this to work though. If you don't they will just die in your tank and foul the water.

 

[beastium]

How can u tell if the asterina is the bad kind?

 

[bigcapct]

I found out when my zoas were not opening and I saw them all over them

 

[yesjenks]

How can u tell if the asterina is the bad kind?

Don't know if all the zoa eating one look like mine. But, mine have small black dots in their center.

 

[bigcapct]

Most of mine have black specks on them. Those are the bxxx's!!

 

[beastium]

On the top or underside.. The ones I've been letting grow have black speckles on top =\? I guess I may need a harlequin skrimp. Do they eat anything other than stars? Pods? Algae?

 

[KathyC]

On the top or underside.. The ones I've been letting grow have black speckles on top =\? I guess I may need a harlequin skrimp. Do they eat anything other than stars? Pods? Algae?

In this thread you can see the difference between the harmless asterinas and what the ones look like that eat zoas.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/39498-stars-my-nemesis.html

Harlequin shrimp ONLY eat :starfish:

 

[bigcapct]

Yea on top. My shrimp is loving Em lol

 

[beastium]

Thank you kathy that was a very informative post

So the ones I have are ok. The bad ones are like black specks themselves

 

[yesjenks]

So, I picked up a pair of harlequin shrimp this weekend. They have been hanging out together since yesterday afternoon and are moving around a little. But, I haven't seen them eat anything. Is that normal? I'm going to just let them be for the next few days. Is there reason for concern?

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Nah. Just like everything give them some time to get adjusted. They could be active at night more than when th lights are on. Maybe observe them a bit while the lights are out.

 

[yesjenks]

Ok, thanks Jimmy!

 

[Dace]

Nah. Just like everything give them some time to get adjusted. They could be active at night more than when th lights are on. Maybe observe them a bit while the lights are out.

I agree

 

[Dace]

if you can pick up a few chocolate chip stars at a time and cut them into 5 pieces(1 for each leg) they will replenish the rest of their bodies over time and you can keep doing the process and multiply them to give you an unlimited supply....if you started out with like 5 or so stars and cut them up and stored them in your sump it will most definitely work and just feed the shrimp 1 leg a week

I just could never get myself to cut up a star fish :-(