Blue Linka

stevot123

stevot123

New Member
I have had my blue linka for approx 1 month, now when he climbs, his arms are somewhat limp. He does not look as good as he did when I got him. He never was exposed to air. Does anyone know anything about what may be going wrong. I have a 55 gal tank with 75 lbs of liverock. All of my water speqs are good. . . . I am at a loss
Thx
Steven
 
stevot123

stevot123

New Member
Thx for the welcome. I am still relatively new to the hobby, so I may not be checking all of the necessary parameters, but Ph is 8.2, Nitrites 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrates 0
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
do you have a phosphate kit?
temp? SG? (specific gravity) or Salinity?
what kits are you using, how old are they?
is the equipment old? do you get tingled or zapped when you touch the water?
these stars are very sensitive and are not good animals for beginners. they need established tanks of over 6 months with lots of critters in the sandbed and rocks.
how old is the tank? how many #s LR ?
 
stevot123

stevot123

New Member
Okay . . . now that I know what you are looking for . . . lol I have phosgaurd in my tank but do not have a way to measure for it.. My temp is 78-79, sg is 1.023. By kits I assume you mean what do I use to test my water, all I have is the basic that I reported previously which is as old as the setup. I do not feel voltage in the water. Everything is pretty new and still reliable. I have an established tank of 7 mo.s, 40 crabs, 40 snails, 1 anthias, 1 blenny, 1 goby, 1 damsel, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 anemone(bubble tip), 50 lbs of sand, 75# of LR, I have a 20 gl fuge with cleaner clam, cheato, grape algae, and more critters in there, misc softies, clam, sps. Protein skimmer . . . . that is pretty much my entire setup.
 
stevot123

stevot123

New Member
Acclimated via the drip procedure for 3.5 hrs . . . never touched air while acclimating or introduction. Last week he was hanging out near the surface of my tank and may have breached the surface. he has been in my tank for about 1.5 months.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
3.5 may not have been enough. stars and inverts are the most sensitive to salinity changes. it can take a month or more for the effects of the shock to kill the animal.
do you keep corals, are they healthy? fish?
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
1.023 is low for a starfish and coral. Should be up around 1.025-1.026, you will have to raise it but extremely slow. I highly doubt this star will live very long, they are just so difficult to keep.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Specific gravity, IMO, far too low.
Exposure to air is a myth...it is not what causes these issues.
One month is a time for acclimation shock or stress from the salinity. Watch for whitish patches developing on the arms.
IMO, you need to slowly raise your specific gravity (eg top off with salt water instead of fresh a few days).
However, long term your tank is likely too small, with too little LR to sustain it. Typically best odds are in teh 150g range with 200+lbs of LR in a mature 1+ year old reef tank.
this is one of the most delicate animals we try to keep, and success beyond 18 months is not common in most tanks.
 
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