Newest addition!

[KNelson]

Meet my Bongo Shrimp!  I scored a helluva deal when I went to Aquatic Warehouse to get more RO water.  I was really looking for Sexys but they were out and the guy pointed this little weirdo out to me (I may still get some Sexys later on).  I snagged a few asterinas from Reefer's Garage to get a population going (fingers crossed it doesn't get out of hand).

 

He's so tiny! 

 

Those are the rubberbands that contain your new critters. 

 

 

The sinularia is about 2.5" tall. 

 

 

The gobies and the shrimp. 

[mndfreeze]

Nice!   Aren't bongo shrimp a pain in the ass to keep alive?  I keep finding conflicting information on em.  Some places are claiming they will eat normal food too, others say only stars like harlequins.

 

[KNelson]

Thanks 😁  I'm not too sure, there really isn't wealth of info, but for less than ten bucks I'll give it a shot!  I think he found an asterina already.  I'm not too worried if he'll only eat asterinas and micro-brittles.  If I have to haunt my local forum for a steady supply I will. 

 

I've also already figured out his name... Waldo. 

 

Edit:  If anyone knows how much they eat, please comment!  I only got 7 or 8 asterinas today, but I have a contact at another LFS that said he'd try to get me some micro-brittles.

[Euler]

Love those shrimp - that's sick!!

[mndfreeze]

2 hours ago, KNelson said:

Thanks 😁  I'm not too sure, there really isn't wealth of info, but for less than ten bucks I'll give it a shot!  I think he found an asterina already.  I'm not too worried if he'll only eat asterinas and micro-brittles.  If I have to haunt my local forum for a steady supply I will. 

 

I've also already figured out his name... Waldo. 

 

Edit:  If anyone knows how much they eat, please comment!  I only got 7 or 8 asterinas today, but I have a contact at another LFS that said he'd try to get me some micro-brittles.

 

I can say for SURE that you need waaaaay more asterina's than that.  They only eat the tube feet on stars, not the entire star itself so he will starve quickly.  They usually eat much much larger stars than asterinas, and asterinas won't be able to split/reproduce neatrly fast enough if you don't already have a tank just brimming with them.

[KNelson]

24 minutes ago, mndfreeze said:

 

I can say for SURE that you need waaaaay more asterina's than that.  They only eat the tube feet on stars, not the entire star itself so he will starve quickly.  They usually eat much much larger stars than asterinas, and asterinas won't be able to split/reproduce neatrly fast enough if you don't already have a tank just brimming with them.

I know I'll need more stars, but everything I've read on other forums and sites says they eat the whole asterina and micro-brittle in a sitting - even more specifically ones no larger than 1".  I couldn't see what it did to the asterina I think it caught earlier, it was in a weird spot for viewing.  They can't eat the larger things - I mean, this guy isn't even 0.5" and will top out at 1".  When it gets larger I may try a larger star and see how that goes.

[KNelson]

[mndfreeze]

On 6/23/2018 at 10:13 PM, KNelson said:

I know I'll need more stars, but everything I've read on other forums and sites says they eat the whole asterina and micro-brittle in a sitting - even more specifically ones no larger than 1".  I couldn't see what it did to the asterina I think it caught earlier, it was in a weird spot for viewing.  They can't eat the larger things - I mean, this guy isn't even 0.5" and will top out at 1".  When it gets larger I may try a larger star and see how that goes.

 

weird.  The stuff I read (though old) said to treat them basically the same as harlequins.  Hopefully they do eat the entire star and not just the soft bottom parts. Definitely make sure you get a ton more.  I know harlequins can starve in a tank even when its brimming with asterinas because they can't find them fast enough.  

[KNelson]

7 hours ago, mndfreeze said:

 

weird.  The stuff I read (though old) said to treat them basically the same as harlequins.  Hopefully they do eat the entire star and not just the soft bottom parts. Definitely make sure you get a ton more.  I know harlequins can starve in a tank even when its brimming with asterinas because they can't find them fast enough.  

I just got 10 more yesterday!  I found 3 from the first batch before I put the new ones in.   I was worried about that exact thing.