Tip of the Day – 7/22/2014

Harlequin shrimp are amazing little crustaceans. Besides a unique look that is only made more intriguing by the way it moves its appendages, the shrimp has an unusual diet consisting of nothing but starfish. These shrimp immobilize their starfish prey by injecting them with a neurotoxin. The starfish is then flipped into its back, usually, which allows the shrimp to start gnawing away at it’s now immobile meal. It might take a while for the shrimp to eat a moderately sized starfish, but it will eventually consume all but a few morsels. For the aquarium, chocolate chip starfish and Asterina stars make up the diet for most harlequin shrimp.