Can anyone tell me about Harlequin shrimp and such?

[Pharmtekbobby]

I know they eat starfish....tell me more!
I also want to know about the orange/purple lobsters. On both animals I want to know...How aggressive to they get? What do they eat? Reef safe? Educate me!

[K9Decoy]

Bobby, try following this link (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=555) to get more info about reef lobsters and their needs. Also, for info on your harlequin shrimp, follow this link (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=749). Hope this helps!

[mogurnda]

As the link says, harlequin shrimp eat only live starfish.

I had never heard of the purple/orange reef lobster. Wouldn't trust anything with claws like that.

[RothChyld]

My 2 cents:

Both inhabitants that I personally would not recommend for an aquarium. Reasons:

The lobster can be aggressive. This is a breed of the red dwarf lobster which is known to be a scavenger and kill fish when they are sleeping. Although the purple/orange, or enoplometopus debelius, are more shy, if you get an aggressive one he may start attacking fish. Also these are more nocturnal so you may not get to see them do a whole lot.

Harlequins eat starfish and the tube feet of urchins. I think the price you are going to pay for his diet isn't really worth it plus you have to live with yourself killing about 1 starfish a week to feed them. :shake:

RothChyld

[BrianH]

I know of a couple of people who successfully keep harlequin shrimp in a reef tank. They normally feed them chocolate chip starfish about once a month. These starfish a chosen due to their price(9.99 each around here) and availability. The only concern is that these starfish are not reef safe so you must watch your corals. I'm sure that there is a lot more to these creatures. I'd do a lot more research before laying out the substantial cash for them.

Brian