Blue Linckia?
- Thread starter cedarreef
- Start date
reefreak29
Active Member
Originally Posted by CedarReef
http:///forum/post/2765789
I'm going to have a reef soon and was thinking about a Blue Linckia star for the tank. I know that most reef safe stars have a bad rep due to starving. Is this one of those? How hard are they to care for?
beautiful star but very difficult to keep, you need at least a 4 to 6 hour acclimation, 120 lbs of live rock, and perfect water quility. i think the problem is when they ship them to the lfs they put multiple ones together in a bag . when shipped like that they give a toxin off that pretty much kills each other.
i have although had good luck with the red linckia stars but need the same amount of live rock and acclimation
http:///forum/post/2765789
I'm going to have a reef soon and was thinking about a Blue Linckia star for the tank. I know that most reef safe stars have a bad rep due to starving. Is this one of those? How hard are they to care for?
beautiful star but very difficult to keep, you need at least a 4 to 6 hour acclimation, 120 lbs of live rock, and perfect water quility. i think the problem is when they ship them to the lfs they put multiple ones together in a bag . when shipped like that they give a toxin off that pretty much kills each other.
i have although had good luck with the red linckia stars but need the same amount of live rock and acclimation
sepulatian
Moderator
Linckias are great stars if you have the proper conditions for them. Blue linckias cannot be spot fed and they don't do clean up. They feed from the rock. It is important to have a large quantity of rock so that there will always be new growth for them.
All stars need longer acclimation times and stable mature tanks.
All stars need longer acclimation times and stable mature tanks.
fallensynner
Member
serpent and brittle and linkia are a must in a reef aquarium if u have the space. the serpent and brittle star are very hardy and easy to maintane and when i would feed them pellets they would come out looking like war of the worlds
nw2salt08
Active Member
I agree with the brittles. My tank came with one and the guy is extremely hardy. Very active when feeding. I have since then purchased mini's and they are tiny but hardy as well. You won't see them as much though. They like to hide in the crevices of the rock. You'll see an arm peek out when feeding and then right back in when they get something. Very hardy though.
rotarymagic
Active Member
Blue Linckias are fine, Just make sure you feed them once a week or so.. believe it or not they'll take a scallop or any meaty food just like a brittle, but are far less voracious and you must monitor them so that they do not drop the food item.
The biggest cause of death to linckias is bacterial infections.
The biggest cause of death to linckias is bacterial infections.
doggiepuffer
Member
With Linckia's generally the LFS here recommands the orange or Red Linckia as they are a little hardier than the the Blue's and Purples. My Brittle Star will take Silver Sides right out of my hand.
ophiura
Active Member
Linckia is easy to keep in a 300-400g tank with several hundred pounds of LR.
Otherwise, i strongly discourage keeping them. the overwhelming majority DO NOT take to spot feeding and are not scavengers - otherwise they would do fine in nearly any tank. It is clear success is highly correlated with the amount of available LR (surface area). They feed on microbial/bacterial/algal films or the microscopic creatures that feed on them. Every once and awhile someone reports one that spot feeds...it is exceedingly rare.
keep in mind too that they take 12-18 months to starve to death, so what appears to be working is often not. Anyone who has success with Linckia should have had that success at least 1.5 years.
Brittlestars and serpentstars are usually hardier - the bright red star has the most difficulty in acclimating of most in the hobby. Be careful on that front. Once established, most are very hardy, but should be spot fed. the green brittlestar should be avoided as it is a known predator in the wild.
Otherwise, i strongly discourage keeping them. the overwhelming majority DO NOT take to spot feeding and are not scavengers - otherwise they would do fine in nearly any tank. It is clear success is highly correlated with the amount of available LR (surface area). They feed on microbial/bacterial/algal films or the microscopic creatures that feed on them. Every once and awhile someone reports one that spot feeds...it is exceedingly rare.
keep in mind too that they take 12-18 months to starve to death, so what appears to be working is often not. Anyone who has success with Linckia should have had that success at least 1.5 years.
Brittlestars and serpentstars are usually hardier - the bright red star has the most difficulty in acclimating of most in the hobby. Be careful on that front. Once established, most are very hardy, but should be spot fed. the green brittlestar should be avoided as it is a known predator in the wild.