Orange Linckia didn't make it

[andro]

Well I got a really cool Orange Linckia the other day, one week ago to be exact, and he was not in good shape this morning. Yesterday it moved for the second time while it was in my tank to go under one of the small tunnels my sleeper goby dug out under my rock. This morning, I find him half eaten by one of my shrimp. When I took it out of the tank, it basically disolved into pieces. Talk about a nasty smell too. Good thing I wasn't hungry or anything.

Jenn and I kinda liked the starfish, it added color to the tank that we really didn't have. It looked good when I got it, didn't touch him at all and dripped him for over 3 hours until the holding water tested equal to my tank water.

-Ian

[Tomzpc]

Bummer Ian. Sorry to hear it. :(

[nine9d]

You win some, and you lose some. Sorry bud.

[seaham358]

I would say it was probalby from the way it was handled before you got it.... Sorry ....... They are nice stars....

To brighten things up my BTA split again.....

[andro]

Damn thats cool about the BTA. Congrats!!! :bum: :bum: :bum:


Yeah, it was probably handled poorly before me, thats a tough one because you never know how things are handled before you, even if the LFS does everything right, the person before them might have just picked it up and threw it in a bag.

[Reelfish]

This is the part of reefkeeping that is most frustrating. We tend to think it is our fault when something dies and alot of the time it has not a thing to do with our setups.
Bob

[Franks Reef]

Sorry to hear that Ian. Linkias are tough. I doubt you did anything wrong.

I bought a blue one a long time ago for my 46 bow. The LFS guy grabbed him out with his hands, threw him in the bag and told me to just flip it in the tank.:eek: Same fate as yours!

My purple star (the one that ate Tom Z.'s kenya tree) was damaged from shipping and because I acclimated him properly, he totally healed.

Since we are talking about them, I would like to share a few facts about them that I had researched before buying another.

Besides not touching them with your hands and acclimating them long and slow. They need a salinity of no less than 1.024 to survive for a long time. 1.025-1.026 is best. Their feeding preferences are still argued a great deal, but they definitely aren't scavengers that can be spot fed. They are believed to feed solely on bacterial film found on LR, LS and the glass of your tank. It is suggested to have at least a 100 gallon system with 150 lbs of mature LR for them to feed off of (preferably 150 gallons w/ 200+lbs of LR) and a perfectly stable system. Most sources say to not purchase them until your system has been stable for at least 6 months (9-12 preferable). And only one per tank. Not because they are aggressive, but there is not enough for more than one of them to survive for a long period of time. If your system does have enough food and pristine conditions, your linkia will reproduce by losing a leg which grows into another star.

Most linkias die in aquariums because of the lack of the above conditions. They slowly starve . Usually in the first 6-8 months at the most. If they make it a year, you have done something right.

This info was aquired by internet research as well as chatting with a sea star expert on another board. Hopefully it helps someone in keeping one of these little guys.

Frank

[nine9d]

Great, great info Frank. I have loved to watch these creatures and wanted one when I got my tank. I will definetly wait and make sure that my params are correct for at least 6-12 months. CHEERS! :beer:

[ADS]

I agree linkias have a poor history. I have a blue one for almost a year. They do primarily feed on algal film in my tank.
I had one that sat on top of zoo colony for weeks at a time.
Sorry for the loss Ian.
Adam

[masterswimmer]

Ian,
I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Frank,
Really helpful info. Those Linkias are beautiful, very easy to see one, and suddenly find him in your tank. Good to have some detailed info on them. Thanx

Russ

[andro]

Frank, excellent info and I will definatly keep it in mind. I have been doing a lot of research on them myself, and you have provided me with some new insight.

-Ian

[Franks Reef]

I was looking through one of my books this AM while the wife was cookin' up some heart shaped pancakes for me and the kids and the first page I opened to, oddly enough, had a picture of a damaged blue linkia. It mentioned several of the cares needed to be taken when acclimating such a creature, most of which I had already stated. One of the things I forgot is, to avoid prolonged exposure to the air. It also will, not may, cause irreperable damage. Stating that linkias have amazing regenerative capabilities, but rarely overcome the damage caused by acclimation and handling.

Just a few more of my hard earned pennies(aka, my 2 cents)
Frank

[andro]

Frank, I have heard that before about the exposure to air, and was kind of concerned when my star was put into the bag that it was exposed too long. I have seen many reports of that leading to the death of the star.

As beautiful as they are, I do not know if I will get another one because they are very delicate and no matter what I do to acclimate him, if damage has already been done, their is not much that I could do to save it.


-Ian