baby starfish - beneficial?

[xman019]

Does anyone have any experience with baby starfish appearing in the aquarium? I have a 55 gallon Fish W/LR that I set up about 2 months ago and just today noticed 4 of the starfish with the round center and 5 snakelike arms. Their bodies are about 1/8 of an inch across and with their arms they probably measure around 1 1/2 inches tip to tip.
I have a sand sifting star, but no other stars so I'm not sure where these came from. My only thought is that they came in with the live rock.
There are also a bunch of little tiny critters that I am unsure of what they are. They are so small they could either be very tiny shrimp or maybe super small fry.
I'm wondering if the stars and these other little guys are beneficial or harmful. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!

 

[gurgle]

The little critters sound like pods, which are harmless & fun to watch! The small stars are also harmless , I have a couple of stars in my tank, they are part of a clean up team , with small hermits & snails, helpfull w/algae.

 

[barry cuda]

The microstars are harmless, probably even beneficial as they will help maintain a healthy sandbed. The sand-sifting star, OTOH, will deplete the sandbed of all the beneficial animals it hosts. I'd remove it.