gdlyorchi Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 More of a question about chocos. Does anyone keep them in their sump/fuge? Will the chocolate chip star eat pods/macro algea? Whats the requirement for keeping them and what are you guys feeding them? Thanks! A pair of Harlies are def in my future. I don't have a sump on my BC, I got a chocolate chip star, chop it off on peaces and freez it in a container, then every week I feed my harlequin a leg or other part of the body, so far my harlequin seems to be happy with this method, at least the starfish dies fast instead of been chop apart and eated alive on a painful and long dead! lol / I don't think their will eat pod but I'm not sure about macro algae Link to comment
19jeffro83 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 In my experience the shrimp don't like frozen stars nearly as much as fresh. I've heard some won't even touch frozen stars. One other down fall I found to feeding frozen is that the starfish starts to rot immediately due to the fact it's dead. On the up side you control the amount fed and it's easier for you as the pets owner. As far as keeping stars alive in a sump. This is what I do with my choco chips. I've seen no Negative results on my macros or pod population. I don't feed anything but I don't keep them for much longer than a month or so. Good question maybe someone can answer it better than me. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Just got this blue baby couple days ago. Can harlequin shrimp get along with a bongo shrimp>>?? Because I'm thinking of getting a bongo shrimp to eat my brittle stars in the tank....too many of them. Overpopulating. Link to comment
hoyuen Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I am keeping a pair in my fluval edge salt water. Second day so far. They are both infant size! I really want to try going the frozen chopped up starfish route. If the starfish dies pre-maturely I have to take it out in fear of contaminating the water... using more $ to bring in a new one... etc. came home and found them hugging each other. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Yes!!! A picture show of my harlequin shrimp detecting an asterina star. Some more!!!! Better pictures of it this time! 1 Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Oh my god, my shrimp flew in an instant!! What a rare sight to begin with!! Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 i've kept chocolate stars in the sump for a month and they did fine. I dont feed them - they seem to just catch particulate from the water flowing over the baffles. i dont see how people do the regeneration thing. My two kill and devour a starfish in a week. They could eat an arm in a day. Regeneration would take months. Link to comment
DK_Reef Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 anyone ever observe them eating an urchin? I found a LFS that has single for $40 and pairs for $80. best price I have seen yet here. forget to check how much star fish cost though lol how much do you guys spend per year on starfish? I calculated according to feeding a pair a whole starfish per month + 2 weeks wandering means feeding them a starfish every 6 weeks = 8.6 or 9 starfish a year = $45-$90 Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hey dkreef, I don't think harlequin shrimps eat urchins. They just eat starfish only but not the brittle seastar. It takes about 2-3 weeks for a shrimp to finish a star depending on the size of the star and the shrimp. Over here in cali, the small shrimp only costs $20-25. Link to comment
DK_Reef Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hey dkreef, I don't think harlequin shrimps eat urchins. They just eat starfish only but not the brittle seastar. It takes about 2-3 weeks for a shrimp to finish a star depending on the size of the star and the shrimp. Over here in cali, the small shrimp only costs $20-25. thanks the pair is the one on blue zoo under origin hawaii here reference pic Link to comment
gdlyorchi Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 anyone ever observe them eating an urchin? I found a LFS that has single for $40 and pairs for $80. best price I have seen yet here. forget to check how much star fish cost though lol how much do you guys spend per year on starfish? I calculated according to feeding a pair a whole starfish per month + 2 weeks wandering means feeding them a starfish every 6 weeks = 8.6 or 9 starfish a year = $45-$90 here on Vegas I found a pair at petco for 50 and a single one at the LFS was 45, I had to buy a starfish every 5-6 weeks Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hey dkreef, I'm sure that the hawaiian ones eat starfish only as well. I'm also guessing that the hawaiian ones are more purple? The one in the pic is nice. Mine is only 1 inch so that website is about the right price. Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 dont know if this is true but SUPPOSIDLY if you feed them red linkia's they are more pinky red, blue linkia's and they end up more purple-blue... average price is about $20-$30. Pretty hardy IMO and great addition to any tank. i worked out a deal with my LFS where i can buy 10-20 choclate stars at his cost. Have yet to take him up on the offer but its easy to split them up with someone else who has em and just keep them in your sump (chocolate stars are not reef safe) Link to comment
DK_Reef Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 dont know if this is true but SUPPOSIDLY if you feed them red linkia's they are more pinky red, blue linkia's and they end up more purple-blue... average price is about $20-$30. Pretty hardy IMO and great addition to any tank. i worked out a deal with my LFS where i can buy 10-20 choclate stars at his cost. Have yet to take him up on the offer but its easy to split them up with someone else who has em and just keep them in your sump (chocolate stars are not reef safe) that is interesting, because here their main prey is Linicka multifora which is red, the blue linicka isn't found in hawaiian waters, maybe that is why there is the color morph? also do you have to buy all 20 at one time? lol or whenever you need? Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 that is interesting, because here their main prey is Linicka multifora which is red, the blue linicka isn't found in hawaiian waters, maybe that is why there is the color morph? also do you have to buy all 20 at one time? lol or whenever you need? buy 20 at once - split em up with a couple guys - lijke i said i havent done it yet but there is another guy who i know who has a harlie as well. The choclate stars i get are always the size of my palm so the two harlies in my tank devour it in less than a week. I give them a one week break then throw another one in. A linkia would take a month to finish considering how big they are but they are way to expensive. They are like $25+ each where i live. i can keep the star fish alive in my sump without any issues - they seem to filter feed. They hang out where the water goes over the baffle and do this upside down cliff hanger thing and have their tentecles out. Link to comment
hoyuen Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 what happens if a starfish dies prematurely... I have a 6 gallon pico tank. the chocolate star appears to be in dire form. If he dies will he surely trigger an ammonia spike? or are the stars really hardy that they juat ppear dead but no rotting? Anyone solve this dilemma yet? Link to comment
hoyuen Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 what happens if a starfish dies prematurely... I have a 6 gallon pico tank. the chocolate star appears to be in dire form. If he dies will he surely trigger an ammonia spike? or are the stars really hardy that they juat ppear dead but no rotting? Anyone solve this dilemma yet? today i found they have abandoned the live chocolate starfish allowing it to crawl off while they munch on a dead leg (seperated from the starfish 2 days ago) Maybe they are trying to ration it so the starfish stay alive as long as possible. This is great news for me because it might mean they don't mind eating dead stars. Link to comment
gdlyorchi Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I hear that some harlequins grab the live starfish, take it to a cave, eat a leg, then go out looking for some food for the starfish and feed the starfish, so their try to keep it live as much possible, but that's what I hear Link to comment
Enavas Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Well, with my harlequins, they both carry the starfish to thier hideout and slowly eat it. they will keep the starfish alive though. not sure how but i am sure the starfish is alive during the whole time. Link to comment
Rymah Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 i know this question has been asked in this thread before but i could find an answer. i have a SPS tank and water quality to me is #1, can i have a pair of harlys and feen them live ccstars and not polute my water? thanks guys! Link to comment
Mr.Nano Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Yes, just make sure you watch the star closely after a couple weeks and take it out when it starts falling apart. IMO harleys are the coolest shrimp one can buy for a tank, you wont be dissapointed. Link to comment
hoyuen Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 anyone know if the white balls they leave behind would be consumed by cuc or sexy shrimps? I have really fine sand and a very tight opening on my tank... it's very difficult to maneuver under he "cave" they drag the star to Link to comment
Flake Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I got mine maybe 2 weeks ago and they're already my favorite thing in the tank. Link to comment
hoyuen Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 mine (2 of them) both molted twice in 2 weeks. they havn't finished the starfish yet tho (3 legs left, still alive) Link to comment
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