Peppermint Shrimps bugging Sand Sifting Starfish

[monte87ss]

We have two Peppermints and for the last 2-3 days they will not leave the Sand Sifting Starfish alone. If he is above the gravel moving to another spot in the tank, both peppermints are on top of him, picking at him. If he is under the gravel one of the peppermints will stay in the same area and stick his little feeler down into the gravel. Could there be something wrong with the star? Or is it normal for peppermints to clean fish/stars like a skunk cleaner would? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks ahead of time,
James

 

[monte87ss]

I may be mistaken about the skunk cleaner shrimps, but I thought I read somewhere that they will clean fish.

 

[smallblock]

your right about the skunk, they set up cleaner stations and the fish will seek them out, I have a skunk and a blood red and they both clean fish. The fish like to be cleaned by the blood red more because he seems to be gentler than the skunk. The skunk is more active in cleaning though he will actually seek at the fish i would say that he cleans my gobies the most. As far as the pep shrimp i have no idea I've never had one. Good luck

 

[monte87ss]

I believe its a like crushed coralish. Also its a 14g BioCube. I am actually thinking about trading him or selling the star fish because he has done such a good job at cleaning the substrate that i don't want him to starve.

 

[mapleredta]

Perhaps the starfish is starting to die and that is what is causing the shrimp to pick at it.

 

[monte87ss]

Maple I can kind of see that he has seemed to slow down and when he goes under the sand he seems to stay down longer than he used to. He has grown so much since we got him and my girlfriend picked him out and has become very attached to him. Is there possibly anything that we can do to help him out. I have tried to feed him but when I try and put food around him he wants nothing to do with it. Maybe I am trying to feed him the wrong thing.
Any help would be awesome Thanks

 

[monte87ss]

Thank you dawgdude. The guy at our LFS told us that our tank should be fine but I wasn't sure after I started reading up on the sand sifting stars. I really don't want to get rid of him but I would rather do that than slowly let him starve to death in my tank. He has seemed to be fine for the past 6 months or so since he's been in there. I guess we will see if we can take him back. Are there any types of starfish that will be okay to put in a 14g BioCube? Thanks again for your help.

 

[smoothie]

Dawgdude is right.
As far as the shrimp goes they do have cleaning behaviors and are being studied more to be classified as such. Still more of a scavenger even though they have the cleaner tendancies