Injured Linkia Star

[Pool Man]

Lights came on this morning to find a banded coral shrimp tearing a hole in my new (3 weeks in tank) Blue Linkia star. Tore up about 50lbs of LR trying to catch him before I stopped. A trap WILL be set for him tonight. Anything I can/ should do for my star? I have a 55 set-up, but they are real picky and I would do a SLOW acclimation. Any thoughts?

 

[Pool Man]

Just an update: Since asking for help almost a week ago, it finally died. I removed it yesterday. I hated not being able to do anything for it, was hoping someone here could/ would have responded with some kind of suggestion.

 

[olemiss reb]

The CBS would not attack a healthy linckia. CBS are opportunistic feeders and an injured linckia is an easy meal. 3-4 weeks is about the time that acclimation shock begins to show symptoms. Improper acclimation at the LFS is more than likely the source as you knew about the slow acclimation. My LFS only float acclimates their linckias and I bet that is the case with most LFS. I order my linckias from bluezo0, my purple and blue are both going on 2+ years in my tank.

 

[greenbean36191]

Unfortunately, it's not likely that anything could have been done.

What you saw is typical damage due to poor acclimation. The shrimp likely had no hand in causing it. Keep in mind that while you may have acclimated the star properly to your tank, along the chain of custody there were several other opportunities for other people to acclimate it poorly to their holding systems. By the time the wounds start to show, the damage has already been done and there's no way to undo it.

If you want to try another Linckia make sure that the LFS holds it for a few weeks. A month is best if you can convince them to do that. If at that time it's still plump and doesn't have any discolored spots or wounds, it's probably safe to take home. Be sure to acclimate it carefully though, and make sure it goes in the 120, not the 55, otherwise it will likely starve down the road.

 

[Pool Man]

Thanks for the imput. I sometimes wonder if this is one of those "Better to leave in the wild" things. I actually drip acclimated him for close to 8hrs. Little over-kill, better to be safe and my time was free. I ordered him through Liveaquaria whom I hold in great reguard with thier live stock health. The only thing I did notice was the shipping bag was half water/ half air. Could he have had some exposure to the air during shipment? Would that have even been a concern? Your right about the CBS, I over-reacted. I may try one more, but if it dosn't make it I won't keep repeating.

Thanks again


Ps. In case you were wondering greenbean, the sun rises in my living room, right above my reef!