Harlequin Shrimp

The Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera picta) is arguably the most visually spectacular shrimp in the marine hobby, its white body dramatically marked with large, overlapping spots of vivid pink and purple – a pattern that appears hand-painted. They are always sold and kept in mated pairs, which bond for life. Their diet is exclusively sea stars, which they hunt cooperatively, flip onto their backs, and feed upon systematically from the tube feet inward. In the reef aquarium they provide a targeted biological control for invasive Asterina starfish populations that can damage coral tissue if left unchecked. Once Asterina populations are depleted, supplemental sea star feeding (small chocolate chip stars) is required to sustain the pair. Not compatible with desirable sea star species. A collector’s animal of exceptional beauty.