Do peppermint shrimp eat starfish?

[WhitePanther93]

Yesterday I introduced 3 blue micro brittlestars into my tank and I noticed one of my peppermint shrimp harassing one of the stars. I brushed the shrimp away and he seemed to leave the star alone after that. Did I jus make a mistake and introduce an expensive snack for my shrimp?

 

[Jekyl]

Pretty sure they're just scavengers.

 

[Gawlfa]

I have two peppermint shrimp and a chocolate chip star and they ignore each other.

 

[jolthoff]

I tossed some asterinas in with some harlequins mixed with peppermints. To my surprise, a peppermint shrimp was the first to grab one and chowed down on it!

 

[AydenLincoln]

They shouldn’t. Except for maybe an asternia as they are tiny.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Actually, this may be species dependent, but at least some species of peppermint shrimp (Lysmata spp.) will in fact prey on small starfish. Based on the limited research I've found on the matter, though, it seems that they leave big starfish alone. For example, in the study linked below, Lysmata vittata preyed upon juvenile Crown of Thorns Sea Stars (killing the stars and consuming them entirely) until the stars were four months old, and even then the attacks continued after four months old in "partial predation" incidents:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348287178_Is_predation_of_juvenile_crown-of-thorns_seastars_Acanthaster_cf_solaris_by_peppermint_shrimp_Lysmata_vittata_dependent_on_age_size_or_diet