Ornamental harlequin shrimp, Hymenocera picta, are commonly maintained on live comet sea stars, Linckia multifora. In Thailand, both species are commonly collected from the wild, raising concerns regarding the sustainability of such practices. As a step toward the sustainable aquaculture of both, methods of their culture and nutrition were investigated. Under captive conditions, harlequin shrimp readily predate, and can be maintained upon the astropectinid sand star Astropecten indicus as an alternative live feed during periods when comet sea stars are unavailable. Wild A. indicus subsequently spawned multiple times shortly after their collection; the eggs (300 μm diameter) were transferred to static aquaria. Following the appearance of planktonic bipinnaria, larval sea stars were fed a 50:50 Chaetoceros calcitrans and Isochrysis galbana diet. Eleven days post‐transfer, brachiolaria stages began to settle; stages were then fed concentrated I. galbana. When specimens measured 1–2 mm in diameter, they were transferred onto an in‐house formulated Amphiprion diet (>50% protein, >16% lipid). Sea stars were graded regularly; they matured and spawned after 6 months. Populations were maintained for more than three successive generations, demonstrating their ready culture under captive conditions, representing the first harvestable aquaculture of a sea star as a step toward supporting the sustainable culture of a primary, marine species.