blue linckia help

[six.line]

I'm thinking of getting a blue linckia, although I'm not sure what they need, what they eat, how big of a tank they can go in, etc...

Any advice is appreciated, even if I won't like it. :D

[BIGDANE36]

i heard the best way to adapt them is not to float them just take it out of the bag and throw it in

[Lev F.]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8887067#post8887067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BIGDANE36
i heard the best way to adapt them is not to float them just take it out of the bag and throw it in

Where in Lord's name did you hear THAT?! Do you have any idea on how sensitive echinoderms are?

You should DRIP acclimate them for no less than an HOUR.

Nobody knows for sure what they eat. Most don't live past 6 months in a reef tank, but there are some members that have kept these guys for years in their tanks.

Oh yeah, and they get a foot in diameter.

Good Luck!

[thatguy]

They need a lot of live rock. I seriously doubt one is going to survive in a 15g tank. I've never heard of one surviving in a tank under 90g. It could be the case, but I've never heard of it. They need a lot of live rock. I've never seen anything that states what they eat, because I don't think anyone really knows. To acclimate them it is best to drip them for about 6 hours, they are very sensitive to changes in water parameters. They need a lot of live rock.


This is just my experience and opinion, do with it as you will.


Did I mention that they need a lot of live rock?

[tug13]

and I believe they should never come in contact with air.

[six.line]

He wouldn't go in the 15 gallon, that's for sure. I had thought about putting him in the 30, which has about 50 gallons of total volume (sump), but I'm still hesitant. Hence the questioning here. :)

So there's lots of consensus on how to acclimate them, but no one's quite sure of their needs?

[r0bin]

I have had a blue linckia for about 2 weeks now, I know thats not long, but so far he seems to be doing well. I have been feeding it algae wafers like you would feed a cory catfish or other bottom feeder. It really seems to like them, it sits there all night till morning on top of the wafer, so I assume its eating. Also i have been burying marine angel in the substrate and it also sits ther all night on top of that, so I assume it must be eating that also, but the wafers work great. So anyone who has one and doesnt know what to feed try those. As far as the people who claim they dont feed theirs at all, I don't think that sounds to healthy for the linckia.
As far as acclimation I acclimated for an hour using a shot glass. It seemed healthly at the pet store so I assume they acclimated the way they should from the initial shipping process.
I realize I have only had mine a couple weeks so his health could still decline quickly from what I hear.
Good luck!

[loup]

Lots of live rock and at least a 3 hr acclimation.

[IPowderBlueTang]

I have several in a well established 120 gal with 200 Lbs LR and they never lived past a year! They end up starving to death, by shrinking and falling apart. I just gave up and stop wasting my money.
Maybe others might have better luck with keeping them alive longer.
But it's sad to watch this beautiful animal slowly dying in the aquarium and you try to feed it all types of frozen food to dry and don't know what food it actually eats!
That just my experience!
If you do decide to get one hope yours do better than the ones I kept over the years!

[zemuron114]

they need a HUGE tank, like 300 gallons + and it has to be well established. Do not get one for a 15g.

[foresteronw]

I'm one of the lucky ones and just ended up getting a freak BL I guess. Here's my BL story.

I had bought a 120 gallon tank a year and a half ago, added the sand water and had no live rock. I found a woman selling all her livestock about two hours from me so I called her up and headed out there. One of the animals she had was the Blue Linkia starfish. She had it for about 6 months in a 55 gallon tank.

I brought all the livestock home and stopped at the LFS on my way to see if they'd take the Blue Linkia and Manderin. They would take the manderin but not the BL, so I was forced to take it home knowing it more than likely would not make it.

I put the live stock in my tank, acclimated the BL for about an hour and put it in the 120 with about 75lbs of live rock and 150lbs of live sand. 7 months later I found a better setup but a smaller tank, 75 gallons. I set it up and moved all the live stock to my new tank and dripped the BL for about an hour again. It's been in there now for 11 months and doing great, no problems. I do have well over 100lbs of live rock in my tank though so I'm sure that helps.

so mine has been alive for over 2 years in captivity in not so ideal conditions. now i'm not advising this by any means, i just had no other choice and got lucky.

[quack]

powder blue tangs, blue linkias (all linkias ), flower pots, elegans corals . . . short lived in most tanks!!!

[Lev F.]

Not all Linckias do bad. Linckia Multiflora is one of the best starfish for aquariums.

[dc]

While some people have luck, they have a pretty dismal survival rate in our aquariums. I would say pass on one.

[dascharisma]

Linkias die way too frequently to justify purchasing them. I got lucky to get one. I had a friend keep one in his tank for 2 years. When he tore down his tank he gave the linkia to me. It has survived for about 7 months so far. I really like this starfish, but when it dies I won't get another.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/dascharisma/linkiasmall.jpg



Brad

[r0bin]

I am telling you guys who claim you dont know what they eat, mine is chowing down on another algae tablet right now, tonight! Maybe they would live longer if people actually fed them.

[Lev F.]

Well, scientists don't know what they eat, so I'm guessing we don't either. He might be eating the algae tablet, but how do you know he is getting the necessary nutrition he needs?

[r0bin]

Well I don't, but Foster Smith recommends the algae tablets and I consider them to be a pretty good source. Also something is better than feeding them nothing right? Thats my point. We should at least try to feed them instead of being like "well nobody knows so I just wont even try, hope he doesnt starve, oh well."

[cristhiam]

I won't buy another one until more research is done, mine did ok for 1 year in an stablished tank and then it just fall apart. I guess some are lucky keeping them long term but all tanks are different, I've been lucky keeping a 2+ years green goni, they are known not to make it pass the year. It's a 50/50 chance, 30G is not enough IMO, water volume is not that important as to LR for the star.

[six.line]

Brad that picture is just gorgeous... Warning me about getting one and then taunting me with its beauty is just not fair! :)

[leeweber85]

I've had mine for well over a year. He was in a 75gallon with about 130lbs of LR for the first year now he's in my 125 with the same rock. I drip acclimated him for 4-5hrs and was careful to not expose him to air. He has been exposed to air when I've transported rock/ and done waterchanges though. When I do waterchanges I try ro remember to put him on the bottom but sometimes I forget.

I watched him at the LFS for a week or 2 before I bought him. Make sure they don't have any white spots or other blemishes if you decide to try your luck.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8889001#post8889001 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by quack
powder blue tangs, blue linkias (all linkias ), flower pots, elegans corals . . . short lived in most tanks!!!

:confused: :confused:

Since when are PBT's in the same category as goniopora or elegence corals?? This is why blanket statements are bad, IMHO.

I had a blue linkia for several years in my first reef. I fed it limpets from the beach. Hardly an ideal situation for most people, however.

[boxfishpooalot]

Have mine for 6 months. Here are my tank water parameters-

-nitrate 70-100ppm
-phosphate-2ppm
-ammonia 0
-nitrite 0
-salinity apparently 1.026, but with pinpoint im at 1.018(investigating this)

Ill have to try the algae wafers. What are the wafers made from, ie-ingredients? Cause i got nori, wonder if its similar.

[zemuron114]

pink linkias from hawaii do well, but i hear the blue ones are much more touchy and do poorly. In a well established tank they can do fine, however a 15g is not big enough for any linkia IME.

[r0bin]

Heres a link hope it works:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4260&Ntt=algae%20wafer&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

If it doesnt you can type in algae wafer on www.drsfostersmith.com the are the hikari ones with the cory cat on the front. I am telling you my blue linkia loves them! I am so pleased to see it eating something.

[SDguy]

Just a note of interest...I was watching a show...something on PBS about coral reefs and such. They showed some shallow flats, filled with algae/detritus/mud, very shallow, filled with blue linkias. I doubt that is a very stable environment with tides going in and out, changing water levels, etc. I'm surprised the blue linkias are so sensitive then. Perhaps only after transport. Maybe they are more robust after being acclimated for a while. Anyways, just some thoughts/observations.