Blue Linckia is it doomed?

[jlfnjlf]

I have a Blue Linckia star in my tank. I have had this starfish for about 3 months. It seems to be doing well for me. Now I just picked up the pocket expert guide to Marine Invertebrates, and it implies that this starfish is doomed in the aquarium. The book states that 1 year life span is all you can expect from this starfish in the aquarium.

I was wondering if anyone has had a different results with the Blue Linckia starfish.

I would also appreciate any advice you are willing to give.

Thanks,

John

 

[BCreefmaker]

its like alot of inverts or certain fish, you can keep them alive for a while, but they die befor thier lifespan is up. this is sometimes cause by inproper nutrition. certain animals need certain nutirents, amino and fatty acids and such. although they can survive on thier current diet, it is very costly for them to take the food thier given and convert it into what they really need. so most people who feed a wide variety of fresh, frozen, and cultured foods have the best chance of keeping certain animals alive longer because they are getting what they need and dont have have to waste energy converting it. this may or maynot be why, just a thought.

 

[kryppy]

I've had one going strong for three+ years. I can't offer much insight into its care though.
They are mysterious to say the least. I have been trying to figure out what it eats the whole time I've been caring for it.
I don't feed the tank anything out of the ordinary and I have moved him three times over the years with no ill effects.
I use NSW, so maybe the secret to my success has something to do with that, but I really doubt it.
I suspect a large healthy tank is their only requirement, good luck.

 

[greenbean36191]

They can certainly live beyond a year in captivity, but most don't. If they survive the first month, the next test comes at about a year to 18 months which is about how long it takes them to starve to death. The secret to keeping them longer than that seems to be having a large amount of LR for them to graze for whatever it is that they eat.

 

[ophiuroid]

I never say never, but if this is the 30g reef and this is a true blue Linckia (typically 5-6" across minimum) then the odds are low. If you get your larger system running then it has more of a chance. The success seems highly correlated with the amount of surface area of LR...meaning, large, mature reef tanks that have room for 150lbs of porous rock.

As a general statement, the odds are poor. If this is a blue morph of Linckia multiflora, then your odds increase quite a lot (though not a sure bet).