linckia starfish

[seray21]

I recently saw picture of Sri Lanka red Linckia sea star and Blue Linckia sea star. Are they reef safe?

 

[espi360]

REEF SAFE.. YES.. HEARTY....NO...

REEF SAFE.. YES.. HEARTY....NO...

I wouldnt attempt to add one of those to my reef. In past experiences and my customers, they dont acclimate well and usualy die in the most remote hard to-reach space without warning. Try a Lavender Caribbian Serpent, or the larger Blood Red serpents from the Indio reefs. Save your $ fer something that has a chance....

 

[rastafarian]

i think the secret to these critters is finding a lfs that knows how to handle them. if they grab the starfish bare handed during any handling, the star is surely to die. the oils on our skin will destroy the tissue of the creature, giving it a melting appearance.

if i find a store that has 'melting' stars, i usually hint them in...

 

[Pomacanthus1]

I've had a linkia for over 4 months now. Its blue color has become more rich and the star has grown noticeably.

Try a Lavender Caribbean Serpent, or the larger Blood Red serpents from the Indo reefs.

Although they are hardy, serpents are known to attack and eat fish and shrimp.

If they grab the starfish bare handed during any handling, the star is surely to die. the oils on our skin will destroy the tissue of the creature, giving it a melting appearance.

Funny, both the guy from the LFS and myself handled the linkia with our bare hands. The star showed no signs that this handling hurt it in any way. IMO the key to success with these sensitive stars is having excellent water quality, and acclimating for at least 3 hours.

 

[chicki]

I have a burgandy one

I have a burgandy one

I've only had mine for about 2 weeks. I've been told if they are going to die, they usually do so the first couple days after you get them. Really pretty and unique! I like it. I also have had a brittle star for several months. He just lives in the rock and comes out to the turkey baster!LOL

 

[RockTheCasbah!]

This is my linkia story. I got my first blue Linkia from my local LFS as I ordered it and brought it home before the LFS took it out of the bag. He looked good, but was never very active and died within 2 weeks. The second one I got a month later and after carefully acclimating it for 3 1/2 hours, it died right away. In both cases, their innerds (guts) were coming out from underneath when they arrived and that was a very bad sign. I wasn't going to get another, but I had ordered it from Etropicals.com and the only way to be reimbursed for the loss was to get another Linkia replacement the next time I ordered from them. I promised myself that if this one didn't make it, I would never get another. When my last one arrived he was quite large (about 7 1/2-8" across!-much larger than the other 2 that didn't make it) he was very bright blue and beautiful. Also, as a precaution, I asked Etropicals.com to ship this one in at least twice as much water/larger bag than the last one, and I would pay any extra shipping for the added water weight. I asked because the first one didn't seem to have alot of water in the bag and I knew they were delicate shippers so I thought that might help. I drip acclimated him for 4 hours. That was 2 months ago and he is still fine. He moves very fast and looks like an acrobat climbing all over everything with gusto. We call him "Elvis" because he looks like Blue Suede and he's the star of the tank. I'm glad I have him, but I still will not get another if something happens to him because a 33% survival rate (in my case) is terrible if you ask me. On a side note, I did handle the first one with my bare hands, and now wonder if that did him in because he died within 2 weeks of arrival, but also the tank was somewhat new and there may not have been much to eat, though I did try target feeding him. The one I still have, I never handled with bare hands, used plastic gloves instead.

 

[Pomacanthus1]

Wow RTC, i hope Elvis survives and thrives!

In addition to excellent water quality and slow acclimation, getting a specimen in outstanding condition is just as important IMO. I don't know if size matters, but when i got mine it was about 4 1/2" diameter. It's about 5" diameter now.

 

[Gordo]

Pic

Pic

RTC,

Do you have a pic of Elvis?

~Gordo~

 

[RockTheCasbah!]

Heeeere's Elvis!
(unfortunately he's lounging in the corner of the tank right now, so I couldn't get a really good angle to take a pic)

 

[ltbt8]

My .02, I've had a blue linkia for almost 2yrs in my 10g and one in my 29g for 5 months. Recently moved the one in the 10g to my 29g and doing great. IMO I think it depends most on how the LFS acclimates them. My LFS acclimates them using the drip method. Their salinity runs just like mine 1.026 and I never acclimated these stars. I put bag in tank for 15min to get the right temp and just drop them in. Guess I'm just lucky!!!!

There are pics of them in my sig.

 

[kaotica]

i have had a 25% success rate w/ the blue linckias...
i got 2 about a year ago and both imploded w/in 48 hours.

now, about 2 weeks ago, I got 2 others at the LFS because they looked absolutely beautiful and healthy. I paid them $10 each, which was also hard to beat (it was a new girl working there)

one disappeared (implosion assumed) within the first 72 hours.

the other one although quite lethargic seems to still be doing pretty good. I am crossiung my fingers and hoping it stays that way!!!

 

[rhwimmers]

I would agree with others...its all about the acclimation...and IME they dont ship well...
I got a blue linkci from a friend who had him for a few months..so he brought him to my house (a few blocks away) and I did a good acclimation..he has been alive for about 2 years I think..this is a 5" blue linckia (5 legged)

I ordered a maroon 6 legged star from ffexpress along with a huge order with some buddies and he died on day 6 (i think they have a 5 day alive guarantee) or something like that...His legs dropped off one by one and I finally removed him.
I handle my blue linkcia fairly often to show off his nice colors and have never had any problems doing this...Does anyone have any scientific evidence on this?
Starfish are one of the most amazing creatues in the sea and also one of the many species us humans do not quite understand!

Ross

 

[newspaperpopcorn]

i dont think that is a correct assumption"a species that humans do not understand" i believe that humans have a great understanding of this species. They are often used in experiments concerning embryology and genetics. Regarding the finger oils on the human skin coming in contact with the starfish, it is often not the actual human secretions, but residue from other chemicals handled previously, that cause damage to the star. I was also at the seattle aquarium a couple of weeks ago and they had a "petting zoo" consisting of many starfish including some linkas, these inverts seemed to not suffer from the symptoms that were stated.

 

[rhwimmers]

As far as them having no brains etc...People have a lot of "theories" about them...like some thinking that they never die in their natural environment...There is a lot of information and theories out there...but still a "hot topic" in the theory of evolution heh...somethin like that

Ross

 

[djbravoleader]

STARS

STARS

I have 4 stars and counting and I have not lost one yet, I believe the biggest thing is "was it or is it sick when you buy it" also it depends on you tank....might even have something to do with the salinity of your tank when adding him. Just my 2 cents from what iv'e learned in the past. I have a brown brittle, blue linka, green linka and a fomunia (don't know the spelling) starfish. All seem healthy and happy with me in my 54 gal. tank.

 

[MikeG]

So they are reef safe, but are they DSB safe? I'd love to have one in my tank if so.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[rhwimmers]

sure! good sand stirrers if anything...they just glide right over the sand..my 2 year old blue has been on my 6" DSB with no problems at all...usually on rocks eating anyway
ross

Anyone know how many different colors there are?? also whats the difference if they have 6 or 5 legs (or arms)

 

[Duce]

I am thinking of getting one of these little fellow
Q. Do they knock over corals.....
Q. How do you spot a 'bad' specimen....beside the arms and body looking full...

 

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

I have had a Blue Linkia for almost a year and a half. Maybe I was lucky ,but it has survived just fine. Hasnt grown much, but maybe becuase it is already full size? ANyway, I know that they need a seriously long drip acclimation. I take almost a full day acclimating my starfish,serpents and snails. As they all benefit from this. But remember being picked from the ocean, then dropped into a distributors tank to who knows who else with what practises makes for a gamble still.

 

[frostbite]

my LFS has a nice blue linkia for some time, and I would like to try to keep him, but the only problem is that he's about 7" across, is he too big for my tank? how fast do these guys move any way??