So I finally got annoyed enough to look up these little starfish. I liked them for a long time but they are starting to annoy me. I don't have the ones that eat corals so I am thinking they are somewhat beneficial?
I read there are 2 ways to get rid of them and both have their down sides and would like to know what everyone else has done to get rid of them.
One way is manual removal. Upside you don't add anything to the tank. Downside is its hard work and you can't get them all.
The second way is to use harlequin shrimp. Upside they are beautiful shrimp, its easy to just let them do the job, and I have a real excuse to spend MORE money on the tank! J/K about that last one.
The downsides are that this shrimp will only eat echinoderms like sea stars so after they are done with the existing population I will have to get more or they will starve. Another downside is I did read one article that says the adult shrimp will eat urchins.
Can they really eat my pincushion urchin even though the urchin is 2.5 inches in diameter?
Do you really need a mated pair? One would take longer to consume the starfish and last longer in the tank.
What do I do when the shrimp runs out of food?
I read there are 2 ways to get rid of them and both have their down sides and would like to know what everyone else has done to get rid of them.
One way is manual removal. Upside you don't add anything to the tank. Downside is its hard work and you can't get them all.
The second way is to use harlequin shrimp. Upside they are beautiful shrimp, its easy to just let them do the job, and I have a real excuse to spend MORE money on the tank! J/K about that last one.
The downsides are that this shrimp will only eat echinoderms like sea stars so after they are done with the existing population I will have to get more or they will starve. Another downside is I did read one article that says the adult shrimp will eat urchins.
Can they really eat my pincushion urchin even though the urchin is 2.5 inches in diameter?
Do you really need a mated pair? One would take longer to consume the starfish and last longer in the tank.
What do I do when the shrimp runs out of food?