Which is more important?

[jmg416]

A couple of weeks ago I lost my cleaner shrimp. I never even found the carcass. Today I bought a new one and finally discovered what happened to to the first one. I found the new shrimp under a rock in the clutches of my spiny starfish. As much as I like my starfish, I liked having the shrimp around to keep parasites off my fish. In particular my bi-color angel made frequent use of the cleaner's services.
So the question is should I pull the starfish out to get a cleaner shrimp in the tank, or is the cleanup work the starfish does make him worth keeping around? Right now I'm a little pissed at the starfish, but I don't want to make my decision based purely on that. Thanks for any input.

 

[alix2.0]

i would say just keep the one you like the best.

 

[mkb623]

Does it really do much cleaning? Also do you feed him? I hand feed my starfish at least once a week keeps his predation down and keeps him healthy.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by Mkb623
http:///forum/post/2498415
Does it really do much cleaning? Also do you feed him? I hand feed my starfish at least once a week keeps his predation down and keeps him healthy.
Yep, try spot feeding your starfish.

 

[m0nk]

If your cleaner shrimp is cleaning parasites then you have something more to worry about than a dead shrimp, imo. You shouldn't have parasites for it to clean, so you might have to deal with that situation sooner rather than later.