Blue Linckia star staying near surface.

[mws]

We purchased a Blue Linckia about 3 months ago (I was not in charge of the operation.) He still looks fine, but stays only at the top of the tank, just beneath the water. He stays in one spot just behind the powerhead for the skimmer. For a long time he hardly moved, but now makes a circle around the top of the tank about every other day or so. I have tried putting him on the bottom of the tank a few times, in the hope that he could get some food off of the rock. He crawls around the rock for a while, but then just goes to the top of the tank again. I only tried this a few times, figuring that bothering him would be worse than letting him be.
(We have about 70 lbs. of rock, added about nine months before the star. Our water quality has fluctuated but it is getting better and nitrates are now 15.)
Has anybody else seen this phenomenon of Linckias (or other stars) staying near the surface of the water?

 

[ophiura]

Yes, it does happen.
What is your surface aggitation like?
It is possible that they are making use of some stuff that may accumulate due to the surface tension of the water. Do you have a lot of algae growth or anything noticeable?
Do not move it any longer, I agree. But I am concerned if it basically does not go on the rock. I am also concerned about the lack of rock overall. How big is this tank?
Success with these stars is highly correlated with amount of surface area of LR - the larger the tank, the more high quality rock, the better the odds.
I would say the majority of blue Linckia will die either in a month of acclimation shock or in a year to 18 months of starvation. You've made it past the first milestone

 

[mws]

Thank you.
I'm sorry, I meant to say we have a 75 gallon. I would like to have more rock, but it is at least set up so that most of the surface is exposed, not in a big heap.
We don't have much surface agitation. Yes we have a horrible hair algae problem (I think the fish are getting fed too much, but that's out of my control).
There is always some scum on the water that you can see looking up at the surface. I just bought an add-on for our bak pak skimmer, to take the water off the top, instead of several inches below the surface. I'm having second thoughts though, because it would take the star's favorite place. He may be getting more nutrients there, but I'm not sure. Once and a while (especially while going around the tank) he puts an arm out upside down into the tank, just under the surface, but I can't say for sure whether he is "fishing" for anything. We had a Fromia star for about a month, bought at the same time as the Linckia, and it used to crawl around everywhere on the rock. It would stop and put several arms in the air (especially at the tips) and it definitely looked like it was "fishing". The Linckia could be doing that but it looks different. Is there any good literature (hobby or scientific) about Linckias or stars in general?

 

[wattsupdoc]

You got about the best best starfish persons attention you can get.(Ophiura)

Take heed of her advise.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by MWS
http:///forum/post/2865047
Thank you.
I'm sorry, I meant to say we have a 75 gallon. I would like to have more rock, but it is at least set up so that most of the surface is exposed, not in a big heap.
We don't have much surface agitation. Yes we have a horrible hair algae problem (I think the fish are getting fed too much, but that's out of my control).
There is always some scum on the water that you can see looking up at the surface. I just bought an add-on for our bak pak skimmer, to take the water off the top, instead of several inches below the surface. I'm having second thoughts though, because it would take the star's favorite place. He may be getting more nutrients there, but I'm not sure. Once and a while (especially while going around the tank) he puts an arm out upside down into the tank, just under the surface, but I can't say for sure whether he is "fishing" for anything. We had a Fromia star for about a month, bought at the same time as the Linckia, and it used to crawl around everywhere on the rock. It would stop and put several arms in the air (especially at the tips) and it definitely looked like it was "fishing". The Linckia could be doing that but it looks different. Is there any good literature (hobby or scientific) about Linckias or stars in general?
Welcome to the boards! Blue linkias are sensitive creatures. They need optimal water quality and plenty of mature live rock. Linkias feed from growth on the rock. If your rock is only a few months old then there is nothing for him to feed on yet. You have scum on the top of the water. Get the skimmer going. The star will find another spot. You also mention hair algae, that is a sign of too many nutrients in the water from either no skimmer or overfeeding, or both. Why is over feeding not in your control?
Linkias are not stars to start out with. They need pristine water readings and plenty of mature rock. They do not eat the hair algae, nor do they clean up after your fish. Just out of curiosity, what is the SG of this tank and what do you measure it with?

 

[mws]

The tank is almost a year old. I should have said "film" on the water. The skimmer is skimming. I was wondering if the overflow "preskimmer" attachment to the bak pak 2 was really very essential.
The tank belongs to another family member, but I help take care of it. So, since I can't control how much food goes into it, I'd like to see what I can do otherwise. We have some macroalgae growing in there, and it is bringing down the nitrates. I'm also trying to brush (gently) the hair algae off of the rocks over time, and clean the filter out a couple times a week. We may have to get some hair algae killer in the end, but things are slowly improving for now. We keep the tank at SG 1.023, using a refractometer (I know that this is rather low - perhaps we can change this).
Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[ophiura]

I would not recommend hair algae killer, as you really need to address the root cause. In short, it doesn't solve the problem long term. How much of the live rock is covered with hair algae?
I would advise whomever feeds the tank that they can kill it with love Basically too much food can be fatal in a closed system like this.
How often do you do water changes?

 

[mws]

About 80% of the rock faces exposed to direct light have hair algae. It does seem to be getting better. We are changing 7 gallons about twice a week in an effort to get the nitrates down (75 gal tank).
The reason I asked about the crawling around at the top of the tank behavior is that the star has done that ever since we put him in back in September (before the hair algae). The first time we put him in the tank he crawled around the rocks for a little bit, then went straight up the glass, and has been there ever since. I thought he was done for a long time ago! Ophiura, based on your experience, do you think that this behavior is stress-related (bad water, lack of interesting growth on the rock etc.), or is it just quirckiness? You mentioned that it might be getting nutrients there. Have you had Linkias do this before?
Thank you,
MWS