Linkia Stars

[The Saltwater Kid]

I would really like to purchase one of these beautiful stars. I know they are very tricky and sometimes downright impossible to keep but is there a difference as far as hardiness goes between the orange, blue or purple Linkias? I would like a blue or purple but my LFS is having a hard time getting those colors in and when he does thet are usually large and expensive. I like the orange too and would buy that but would prefer either purple or blue. I just love seeing these guys glide all over a tank :fun4:

 

[bassettmd]

purples from my knowledge tend to do the best because they are collected with the most water in individual bags... so there chances for survival are much better because they are simply a little more rare. I have tried myself keeping a rather large blue linkia in my own 65 gallon with no success (lost him in 3 days even with a 4 hr drip acclimation). I personally wouldnt even bother with linkias because there are so many other types of starfish out there they have much better track records in home aquaria.

 

[Hal]

Funny, I've read here that the orange's are more hardy than the purples. The purples are delicate.

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

bump

 

[alan214]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9266583#post9266583 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hal
Funny, I've read here that the orange's are more hardy than the purples. The purples are delicate.

I've have the small orange ones 3 or 4 times of the last few years. They seem to last about a year in my tank.

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

should they be fed anything special? what other reef-safe stars are there that are cool looking and more hardy then Linkias?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I have heard that linka multiflora do well in captivity and even reproduce asexually.

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

what exactly is that LOJ?

 

[addicted_2_reef]

it's Linckia multiflora.....
you can see them here...

http://www.reefermadness.us/RMD-Linckia_multiflora.htm

 

[benray4fun]

I have the blue and the red linkia. They are both very active...

 

[addicted_2_reef]

benray4fun..
how old are they? are they in a reef tank?

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

Red or orange Benray?

 

[benray4fun]

addicted,
They've been in my tank a few months and yes, it's in a reef.

Saltwater,
Red, but now that you mention it, sometimes it looks orangy.

Here's a couple of pics...

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/benray4fun/reeftank128.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/benray4fun/reeftank127.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

 

[IPowderBlueTang]

They are very active at first, within a year they will slowly start falling apart or shrinking, losing their legs. Most will starve to death in our tanks!

 

[n8rad]

i have a blue 8" linkia. Ive had him for 1 year. Doing awesome..

 

[383camaro]

I had a purple with 6 legs for about a year. died one day

 

[Curtis1158]

I have heard they are difficult to keep long term. Most starve in a year to a 1 1/2 years. It takes awhile. I've had my Blue Linkia appx 11 months and he is very active. One of the favorites in the tank. We have noticed that he is smaller than before and a bit more wrinkled. I have a 75 gl tank with 160 LBS of LR. I am hoping for the best. Keep the info coming. We all need it here.

 

[DSMpunk]

Is this going in a 29 gallon tank? I think the only star I would put in a tank that size would be a serpent star. I know they arent as cool as the linkias but the red ones are pretty nice looking.

 

[benray4fun]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9271689#post9271689 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DSMpunk
Is this going in a 29 gallon tank? I think the only star I would put in a tank that size would be a serpent star. I know they arent as cool as the linkias but the red ones are pretty nice looking.

They also have the mini-linkias that only grow to half a dollar in size, those would be really cool for small or even nano tanks. I have only seen'm in red/orange in appearance though, but every bit as active and eye catchy as the red one you see in the pic....

 

[t11t5]

I had a Orange Linkia for 1 1/2 years in a 29g. Then I started a 150g and I put it in it. The orange linkia died in my 150 about 1 month later. Probably because it wasn't established good enough. Yesterday I bought another orange for my 150g. I drip acclimated it for 2 hours. He looks good today. I dont like the purple ones cause most of the time they have 6 legs or more. That is from people cutting them to get more stars. I like a perfect star, that is why i bought the orange. It is also very bright orange. Good luck...