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I've been passing the thought through my mind about possibly breeding and raising Harlequin Shrimp. Of course, I plan to add a section in my Food Culturing Station for an Asterina Starfish propogation tank, but I was wondering how often aquarists see Crown of Thorn Starfish in the aquarium trade? If they could be found, would they be cheap because they are considered a predator? Or is all of this wishful thinking?  Do you have any suggestions for a cheap food alternative? I wouldn't wan't to buy Linkia or anything like that just to be eaten. Or would buying a fair amount of regenerative starfish and using a leg at a time prove to be more useful?
Travis Stevens
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| its a bit of a conundrum... the shrimp are not that difficult to keep (and even watch breed... though rearing is another matter).. but as you know, the trick is feeding them live Echinoids (more specifically Asteroids). Some eat the Asterina... some do not seem to at all. Crown of Thorns I'm sure can be collected for you... though they will be expensive to ship live (large... lots of water for a low value animal) My advice: start a thriving Asterina culture first (always culture the prey first to be well established before you even think of impulse buying those shrimp... and yo likely will ) Then see if any of the local or regional folks have unfortunately ordered these shrimps for casual sale. Bring some Asterina and test the already imported (versus special ordering shrimp that may well starve to death and not survive on Asterina) Skepticism aside... I think you can do it. And I think it will not work without you doing Linckia or Fromia... and I think if you give a largish tub (100 gall) of feeder Linkckia/Fromia some heavy and bright dayligh over smooth rocks that grow a hearty film of algae... you may be able to harvest enough legs from the donor colony of sea stars to support a pair of shrimp and not kill of the prey colony. Asterina or otherwise, it will take you a minimum of 6 months to establish the prey culture.
. Anthony Calfo
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Anthony Calfo (10/6/2006)
its a bit of a conundrum...That's what I thought  the shrimp are not that difficult to keep (and even watch breed... though rearing is another matter).. but as you know, the trick is feeding them live Echinoids (more specifically Asteroids). I'm going to attempt to breed Yellow Watchman Gobies (YWG) in the future. I already have that pair/ Doing a little reading, the larval forms of both the YWG and the Harlequin Shrimp (HS) tend to prey on the same first food items until the HS Larvae settle out of the plankton to eat live Asteroids. In addition to the YWG, and far future HS, I already have a pair of clownfish that aren't spawning yet, and in the even further future, I have a helpful hand to a pair of already breeding Bangaii Cardinals. With all this information noted, I'm in the planning stages of a Food Culturing Station. So, I might as well do it correctly from the start. Some eat the Asterina... some do not seem to at all. Crown of Thorns I'm sure can be collected for you... though they will be expensive to ship live (large... lots of water for a low value animal) That bites. I was afraid of that. Just curious, but how long would you expect the nutritional value of a CoT Starfish last while frozen? And yes, I'm aware that not all HS will readily eat "dead" starfish. My advice: start a thriving Asterina culture first (always culture the prey first to be well established before you even think of impulse buying those shrimp... and yo likely will ) Oh yes, I plan on getting the shrimp ahead of time after a fair food source is found and cultivated. Just rearing the larvae will be a long time down the line. Then see if any of the local or regional folks have unfortunately ordered these shrimps for casual sale. Bring some Asterina and test the already imported (versus special ordering shrimp that may well starve to death and not survive on Asterina) I'll admit that I'm lucky enough that any reputable stores that I go to do not order these for casual sale. They are all well versed in husbandry and requirements on a wide variety of marine life. But, I'm also close enough to a few that not only would be happy to order them in, but won't sell them until they are eating and have a full belly. We have some really nice places here in Oklahoma. I also have a lot of people that are more than willing to give me all their Asterina Starfish as well. In fact, one local aquarist also "cultures" them for his HS. Well, they grow so fast in his sump that it keeps up the demand. Skepticism aside... I think you can do it. And I think it will not work without you doing Linckia or Fromia... and I think if you give a largish tub (100 gall) of feeder Linkckia/Fromia some heavy and bright dayligh over smooth rocks that grow a hearty film of algae... you may be able to harvest enough legs from the donor colony of sea stars to support a pair of shrimp and not kill of the prey colony. I've heard of many people using Starfish such as Chocolate Chips. But I'm not sure on that one. Let me know what you think. I still have a lot of research to do on various Asteroids that are readily available, cheap, and have a quick regenerative ability. Asterina or otherwise, it will take you a minimum of 6 months to establish the prey culture. I figured as much, but it's good to hear a number from someone with far more experience.
Travis Stevens
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I have written on the chocolate sea star as feeding issue (as well as Fenner writing on it, et al) on wetwebmedia specifically... but the short story is that it would be a heinous use of a living resource. Not for some high ideals/ethics I'm preaching/projecting here... but rather because the literal shear numbers of those stars that have to die in transit to get one healthy feeder star into captivity. Its a staggering slaughter... an done of the rare exceptions of/as such in our industry. Please don't buy the species or encourage others by example of you using them.
.Anthony Calfo
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You couldn't have typed that up any better. I completely understand the issue at hand and feel the same way as you do. It's a waste to attempt to use them regardless of the benefits of raising Harlequin Shrimp. I'll have to jump on wetwebmedia and check out a few of those articles for more details. Thanks for the heads up.
Travis Stevens
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very welcome my friend... its sad but true too. If all aquarists knew how many such sea stars had to die to get one living one into captivity... they would completely stop buying sea stars and use better choices (in general) such as serpent or brittle stars.
.Anthony Calfo
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| Hi guys, just jumping in here... Anthony, you mentioned brittle stars in you last post. Will harlequin shrimp feed on these? If so, what about the small white brittlestars I have all over my tank? Just thinking of alternatives here. Cheers James
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| That's really wierd. Chocolate Chip Starfish can be maintained well in a captive environment, but they suffer untold amounts of damage to have one successfully shipped. Yet a Linkia Starfish normally only lives about 6 months if you are lucky, but they ship better than others? While that isn't too aweful relative to the original question, it is still something that I would like to have cleared up.
Travis Stevens
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Yet a Linckia Starfish normally only lives about 6 months if you are lucky, but they ship better than others? Nope... equally dismal survivability looking at the numbers form point of collection to the US mainland. Dismal... slaughter really in some cases. Note correct spelling of Linckia BTW, corrected above 
. Anthony Calfo
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Well, that has me question the ethics of Harlequin Shrimp in the ornamental trade. While I don't find specialized eaters a problem being in the ornamental trade, it's the ability to have its food ready. Berghia Nudibranchs and Aiptasia are a good pair that I don't mind being in the trade. But what's the point of aquaculturing Harlequin Shrimp when it's damaging it's food source? (Besides profit). And above all, no specialized eater or food source should be brought in to anyone not willing to go above and beyond to make sure that they are properly taken care of.
Travis Stevens
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