Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera picta)
Looking for a highly specialized, absolutely stunning addition to your Clean Up Crew? The Harlequin Shrimp is hands-down one of the most exotic and beautiful invertebrates in the marine hobby. With their stark white bodies covered in vibrant blue, purple, or pink blotches and their large, petal-like claws, they look more like a swimming orchid than a typical reef scavenger.
While most hobbyists add them for their incredible looks, they serve a very specific and highly valuable purpose: they are the ultimate, undisputed champions of eradicating Asterina starfish plagues. If your rockwork and corals are being overrun by hundreds of tiny nuisance Asterina stars, a single Harlequin Shrimp (or a bonded pair) will systematically hunt them down and clear the tank with ruthless efficiency.
At UKReef Hampshire, we highly recommend the Harlequin Shrimp for reefers dealing with an Asterina outbreak. They are fascinating to watch and incredibly effective, but they do require a very specific diet to thrive once the nuisance starfish are gone!
Quick Care Guide:
Care Level: Moderate to Advanced. While they are hardy in well-established systems with stable parameters, their highly specialized diet makes them unsuitable for beginners who do not have a steady food source prepared. They are completely intolerant of copper medications and high nitrates.
Temperament: Peaceful. They will not bother your fish, corals, or other clean-up crew members like snails and crabs.
Reef Safe: Yes, with one massive exception. ⚠️ Important: They are lethal to all starfish. They will absolutely hunt and eat prized ornamental species, including Linckia, Fromia, and Sand Sifting Starfish. Do not put a Harlequin in a tank with a starfish you want to keep!
Placement: They will roam the entire tank, often setting up a small "cave" or den in the rockwork where they will drag their prey to feed.
Water Flow: Moderate. They appreciate a standard reef flow but are quite adept at navigating the rockwork regardless of your wavemaker settings.
Feeding: Highly Specialized. Harlequin Shrimp are obligate starfish eaters. They eat starfish and absolutely nothing else. Once they have cleared your tank of Asterina stars, they will slowly starve to death unless you provide a continuous food source. You must be prepared to regularly purchase live Chocolate Chip starfish to feed them.