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Where can I buy large chocolate chip starfish for my harlequin shrimp?

tonggao

tonggao

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I bought a couple of harlequin shrimps last weekend, together with two chocolate chip starfish from the same LFS. The starfish are pretty small since they don't have any larger ones. I was hoping to just chop one leg off from one of the startfish once a while and let it grow back. But the shrimps are eating up the small legs really fast, and I have to kill the starfish really fast in order not to starve the shrimps. Does anyone know where I can buy large chocolate chip starfish with reasonable price, preferrably in south bay? Thanks in advance.
 
Yeap, Dolphin is the place where I bought my harlequins and starfish, Tyler gave me a sweet pair of very healthy shrimps with big appetite. He has a bunch of CC starfish, and I picked the two largest ones, but they are still not big. So far I chopped off 3 legs already, and it seems to going to take quite a while before the legs will grow back if I do not kill them first, and the shrimps are still looking hungry.
 
Ugh, how brutal! On the other hand, I eat steak, pork, chicken, etc. But still...!

I think that if I were ever to want to have those shrimps, I'd prepare in advance and get a bunch of CC stars, chop some legs off and let the legs grow into new star fish. You know, fill a tank with them (if possible) then start farming them for the shrimp. Assuming the legs regen a body, that is.

V
 
They eat all starfish.

As for waiting for starfish regeneration, it's a very slow process. It's taking my blue linkia arms 6 months just to show some signs of doing so.
 
Ibn said:
They eat all starfish.

As for waiting for starfish regeneration, it's a very slow process. It's taking my blue linkia arms 6 months just to show some signs of doing so.
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It's rare in aquaria but rather fast in the wild.
 
Vincerama2 said:
Ugh, how brutal! On the other hand, I eat steak, pork, chicken, etc. But still...!

I think that if I were ever to want to have those shrimps, I'd prepare in advance and get a bunch of CC stars, chop some legs off and let the legs grow into new star fish. You know, fill a tank with them (if possible) then start farming them for the shrimp. Assuming the legs regen a body, that is.

V
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Vince, it feels more like fragging corals. You do it also, right?

I don't think CC starfish legs will grow into new stars, at least Tyler told me I should keep the mouth intact if I want it to grow back. I cut a leg off one of the starfish about a week ago, the cut is healed with no new growth, and it looks like it is going to take forever to grow out a new egg.
 
Raddogz said:
Those things eat Asterina starfish (Harlequin shrimp that is)?

If so I siphon some up for out of my tank at work
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Thanks Eileen. I have quite a bit of asterina in my tanks also, and I siphoned out a bunch and put them in my nano tank where the Harlequins are. I used to think i have too many asterinas, and only realized how little they are compared to CC. It will probably take hundreds to make up one CC leg worth of meat, which the shrimps finish in half a day. So I gave up on this. I also noticed the harlequins are not that crazy about the asterinas, as they jump on the CC leg, and i still have quite a few asterinas left.
 
LordHelmet said:
so you bought Tylers pair, nice. good luck and let me know where you get some as my shrimp is also looking hungry.
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Yeap, I always want to get the harlequins, and am glad that I finally did. I can just keep getting the CC starfish from Tyler, it even does not cost me anything since I bring in enough coral frags for him that I have enough store credit. But i hate the feeling of being a fish store starfish killer just to use them as food. When I got them last week, i foolishly told the cashier that the starfish are food for the herlequin, and the people behind me in line looked at me with hate :D.
 
Sfork said:
Go crabbing under the golden gate. Always get some monster starfish in the nets.
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That is an interesting idea. I remember getting these monster sized starfish under the bridge when i went there crabbing, even though it would be hard to justify driving all the way there just for the starfish. Just out of curiousity, is it legal to do it, and will these cold water starfish do well in home aquarium?
 
I couldn't tell you actually, they'll probably live long enough to be food. I don't think they'll live well enough to propagate.
 
tonggao said:
Just out of curiousity, is it legal to do it, and will these cold water starfish do well in home aquarium?
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Contact DF&G, but I think it's not. In any case, they will not survive long in a home aquarium. Water temps around here average about 50-55 degrees.
 
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