Blue Linckia Starfish help...

[cjworkman]

I just recieved several animals I had ordered.
2 questions...
1) I have a 72 gallon, I have a 6 inch serpent star, so when I saw 3-7 inches for a blue linckia, I figured it was fine.. but I recieved what is probably a 7-8 inch star.. he is very large. Will he be o.k. in my 72? I don't know how much room they need or if that is even an issue.
2) Also when I opened the bag after floating for 30 minutes, he was in very brownish looking water and he was rock hard and not moving. I tested it and it was high in Ammonia. At first I thought he didn't survive the trip, but I siphoned some water from my tank into a bucket and immediately removed him from the ammonia water and put him in the tank water. He lossened up within 10 minutes and started moving. Yay!.. but I'm worried that I wasn't able to acclimate him properly. I rinsed him off well and removed him from the bucket after about 2 hours. He is in my tank now, moving and doing well, so wondering if his chances are good.

 

[alyssia]

Blue linckias need looooong drip acclimations, I believe upwards of 4-5 hours. They can show signs of acclimation shock up to a month after being in your tank. You will know if it is dying from this because he will start disinegrating.
I'm not sure about the tank size but they need at least 100 lbs. of LR.

 

[cjworkman]

Thanks,
I guess i'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure a drip would have helped him, the ammonia in the water he was in measured near the top of my scale.
I'll wait and see how he does for the month.
I have about 90 lbs of mature rock in a 2.5 year old tank. He is quite large though....
if he lives through acclimation shock I might see if someone here with a much larger tank wants to attempt to keep him. I measured him and he is almost 10 inches from tip to tip.
I've read in several places that they will accept meaty stuff as food,.. small bits of clam and such places underneath him. So amount of LR may not be as important as some suggest.
But he does look ridiculously big in my tank.. even with it being a 72.

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by cjworkman
http:///forum/post/2514814
Thanks,
I guess i'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure a drip would have helped him, the ammonia in the water he was in measured near the top of my scale.
I'll wait and see how he does for the month.
I have about 90 lbs of mature rock in a 2.5 year old tank. He is quite large though....
if he lives through acclimation shock I might see if someone here with a much larger tank wants to attempt to keep him. I measured him and he is almost 10 inches from tip to tip.
I've read in several places that they will accept meaty stuff as food,.. small bits of clam and such places underneath him. So amount of LR may not be as important as some suggest.
But he does look ridiculously big in my tank.. even with it being a 72.
It's not true that they will accept meaty foods. Some stars will but not linckias.

 

[alyssia]

I have never heard of anyone on this board having success getting a blue linckia to eat any kind of food.

 

[ophiura]

If they are meaty food, they likely would not be reef safe

I have only VERY rarely heard of them accepting food (and not necessarily meaty things).

 

[star master]

Blue lickia's do not even have to be drip acclimated. I find it a waste of time to acclimate anything more than 20 min; if that. I have owned at least 5 blue linckia's and every time I receive one I take it out and throw it in the tank. IN the 7 years I have been in this hobby I have had nothing die on me. The only reason I have owned 5 blue's is because they out grew my tank, but I still own one to this day.

 

[alyssia]

Try doing a search on here and see how many other people having had success with NOT dripping a blue linckia.

 

[ophiura]

Acclimation really is dependant on the source. If you get one from a source that has tank parameters very similar to your own, then you may not need to acclimate.
But the experience is DEFINITELY not the norm.
How much LR do you have and how big are your systems? It would be interesting to know as your experience is definitely unusual

 

[cjworkman]

Since I was forced into this... I'll let you all know what happens in a month.. so far so good.
Do you all agree I did the right thing? or should I have still have attempted to drip acclimate in the high ammonia water?

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by cjworkman
http:///forum/post/2516519
Since I was forced into this... I'll let you all know what happens in a month.. so far so good.
Do you all agree I did the right thing? or should I have still have attempted to drip acclimate in the high ammonia water?
I dunno...I probably would of tried a drip still but either way it's a tough decision.