Orange Linkia?

[breutus]

I here they're hard to acclimate, but I want one really badly. Does anyone have any experience with them I have some softies in the tank along with some bubble tips and some frogspawn. Any advice would be appreciative they have a very nice looking one at TWP that I am looking at.

 

[saltyunderground]

I have been told that linkias do not do well with high phosphates or higher tank temps of 80+.

 

[jwalters103]

ive got an orange linkia that ive had for about a year and a purple one that ive had for about 6 months. i think a consistant salinity is also very important, and i would forget all that nonsense you hear about 4 hour acclimation times

 

[breutus]

well thats good to hear, what salinity do you keep your tank at and as with what lisa said what temp. mine is at 80 now.

 

[jwalters103]

1.025, temp is around 80. she may be right about the phosphate thing too, i had never heard that, but the only difference between now and when i could never keep stars alive is a phosban reactor to lower the phos and auto top off to keep salinity consistant so there may be something to the low phos thing.

i think that you do more harm than good with a 4 hour acclimation time too. personally i never do more than 20 min acclimation, and thats pushing it. this is another thing i have changed. i was never able to keep a star laive if i did a long acclimation, but so far with short acclimation time ive had no probs(knock wood)

 

[DrBDC]

I've heard that if the starfish leaves the water at all and contacts air, it will kill it. I have no idea if that's true or not. 2 times I've tried one and both times it left the water during bagging and both times it started disentegrating within a day. So my experience tends to lead me to believe it.

 

[jwalters103]

ive heard that too, and also that the oils from your skin can damage them if you touch them directly. im not sure about either one of those though, probably best to play it safe and not let it touch the air or your hands

 

[saltyunderground]

Then I guess kissing a star fish is out too, huh?

 

[DrBDC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9313351#post9313351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltyunderground
Then I guess kissing a star fish is out too, huh?

No, that's fine. Feel free to go ahead and kiss all the starfish you want.

 

[saltyunderground]

:inlove:

 

[DrBDC]

You REALLY need to get out more.

 

[hagfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9308931#post9308931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jwalters103
ive got an orange linkia that ive had for about a year and a purple one that ive had for about 6 months. i think a consistant salinity is also very important, and i would forget all that nonsense you hear about 4 hour acclimation times

Everything I've read about starfish acclimation says it needs to be many hours long. You pretty much contradict yourself here IMO because it is pretty rare for the water your new livestock comes in to have the exact same salinity as you have.

Ophiuria (sp?) on the saltwaterfish.com board specializes in starfish. I think the person is actually a marine biologist working in a lab. I have never seen him/her suggest a short acclimation and I'm quite sure I've seen him/her recommend a long one.

 

[jwalters103]

i dont see the contradiction, you can do a quick acclimation and still reach the same salinity as whats in your tank, and when i said consistancy in salinity was key, i meant long term. im not claiming to be a starfish specialist, but am merely recounting what has worked for me. if credentials are an issue, im 11 credit hours away from having a BA and a BS in biology, and though my school doesnt offer marine biology specifically, i have taken every course offered that relates to marine bio. the real sensitivity in starfish lies in their kidneys, and if they stay in ammonia polluted shipping water too long, the kidneys will be damaged