Blue Linkia

[dek196]

I just bought a blue linkia friday and he acclimated well I think. I was just wondering if there were any supplements that I should do to help him out. I know they are prone to disease and he is a fine specimen so I want to do everything possible. Plus the kids love him and we just lost a marble star after 1 1/2 days. I didn't use the drip method on him. I took 2 hours of drip to acclimate the linkia. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
PS I have lots of green hair algae, if he eats that!

 

[duke13]

He'll eat many things. If your tank is established and your water quality is good, then you won't need any supplements added to your water. You can feed the Linkia mysid shrimp. BTW, only keep one Linkia Star per tank.

 

[viper_930]

They only eat the bacterial film on the live rock, but there have been reports here and there about them eating meaty foods. You can try it out.

 

[dek196]

Originally posted by Duke13
He'll eat many things. If your tank is established and your water quality is good, then you won't need any supplements added to your water. You can feed the Linkia mysid shrimp. BTW, only keep one Linkia Star per tank.
Only one Blue Linkia, or only one Linkia period? I had plans of adding an orange/red one also.

 

[nero]

i dont know if you know this, but the blue linkias are pretty hard to keep. i would recommend either trading it for an orange linkia, or if you really wanted to try to keep it, do A LOT or research about how to take care of it. HTH

 

[duke13]

Originally posted by DEK196
Only one Blue Linkia, or only one Linkia period? I had plans of adding an orange/red one also.

Only one Linkia species per tank (in other words only one Linkia period, sorry).

 

[joker_ca]

i set up a tank for a friend and after a year i put a blue linkia in her tank and it survived but her water quality is perfect. They are very difficult to keep but i have read that once you got them acclimated they are hardy and from what i have seen they are hardy, her tank has been set up for almost 3years with no problems with her linkia

 

[elfdoctors]

No one knows for sure what they eat. Most likely it is the slime off the surface of your rocks.
It is usually recommended to have at least 100 pounds of live rock for each linkia in your tank so that they can get enough of what they need to thrive.

 

[ophiura]

Linckia are quite tempting and beautiful but unfortunately most will die. And not of disease. They die of two things: acclimation shock (within a month or so of introduction or ANY major fluctuation in water parameters, esp salinity and pH) and starvation (9-12 months). Generally a very long acclimation is required, upwards of 5 hours, depending on salinity, etc.
They do not eat algae and can not be spot fed. Rarely will they eat anything meaty. I've never known one to take mysid shrimp or be attracted to spot feeding (if they did, people would have much more success...as it stands, there is rather little long term success). As mentioned, they require huge amounts of LR to have a chance of survival, and generally in larger tanks. Large mature reef tanks seems to be a necessity.
IMO. They also should not be introduced into a system less than 6 months old. The specific gravity should be around 1.026. If too low, they do not do well. Watch pH and alk as well.
You really can not keep two Linckia sp stars in a 75g tank. They compete for the same food, and it takes time to replenish it. The diet may be quite specific but it most likely includes algal and bacterial films, sponges, etc. No one really has a clear idea, and that includes seastar specialists.
Unfortunately, one can not claim 'success' with a blue Linckia, or really any Linckia, until it has been kept over a year.
The only exception, if you didn't have the blue Linckia, would be Linckia multiflora which does better in captivity. But if you have the Blue, that is all you will really be able to keep. If it does not survive, I beg you to please read more on the requirements of these seastars before buying any others. Many are really tough to keep and it is throwing money away in many cases to buy them (think your LFS spends much time acclimating them!?).

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by DEK196
I just bought a blue linkia friday and he acclimated well I think. I was just wondering if there were any supplements that I should do to help him out. I know they are prone to disease and he is a fine specimen so I want to do everything possible. Plus the kids love him and we just lost a marble star after 1 1/2 days. I didn't use the drip method on him. I took 2 hours of drip to acclimate the linkia. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
PS I have lots of green hair algae, if he eats that!
Hows it doing?
A blue linkia i'm pretty sure can't even be exposed to air for a second.

 

[ophiura]

This is an "old wive's tale" and will not hurt healthy well acclimated animals. Because they often die, people think it is because they were out of the water, when in fact it is changes in the water itself and lack of acclimation along the shipping process.

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by ophiura
This is an "old wive's tale" and will not hurt healthy well acclimated animals. Because they often die, people think it is because they were out of the water, when in fact it is changes in the water itself and lack of acclimation along the shipping process.
I think you have been misinformed.
Certain Star Fish have no problem with air. But others such as the linkia's are suseptible to air diseases.
I've done tons of research on the linkia's as I have 2.
They do not have a bloodstream per say, instead the water movment helps transport nutrients around thier bodies. Coming out of the water causes a huge shock tothier systems. Sort of like your heart stopping. Most can't recover.
Here is one note from a competeing website. This is only one many instances where I've seen linkia being listed as NO AIR star fish.
Blue Linkia:
" It should never be exposed to air while handling, and should be carefully monitored for the presence of a small parasitic snail, Thyca crystallina."

 

[nero]

are the blue linkias deep water stars?

 

[ophiura]

Well, I've studied echinoderms a bit myself, LOL. 10 years of dissertation research on brittlestars! (OK, enough

and no I didn't find a job doing that! :notsure: Can't explain it. )
Anyway, let me assure you, if even a brief exposure to air is fatal, then they would never make it into the hobby at all. They would be dead by the time they reached the supplier houses in LA.
I've discussed this issue and similar with colleagues and this exposure is not considered a major factor. I've even read threads where some hobbyists leave their Linckia "high and dry" during a water change with no ill affects. Now if they dropped the salinity or impacted the pH significantly...that is bad. I don't recommend it, if it can be avoided, but, IMO, it is not a significant factor when compared to some others.
This species is not a deep water star. I've found them in a few inches of water. Typical shallow coral reef stars but don't have exact depth range right now.

 

[fishtanker]

Ophiura is the star expert

 

[dek196]

He seems to be doing great, he was moving quite a bit at first and now seems to have found a good spot to hang out. I think he has been eating some algae but I can't be sure. I tried to do as much research as possible and only found that you must acclimate them slowly. I did it for about 2 hours and I'm sure I should have done more. My tank has been up and established for 2+ years and I just purchased a koralin CA reactor. I dont think that it will contribute to food growth but thats why I am on this board. My good friend is my LFS owner and he said that the whole air thing is a myth. He said that everyone pulls them out of the water from initial taking to dropping the in the hobbyists tank. I really hope he does well and any input is helpful. Thanks

 

[ophiura]

I'm really glad to hear that you tank has been set up so long. That is definitely a positive. Assuming you have 75 - 100lbs of LR, I would say it is a real good start. But I wouldn't mess around by adding another Linckia. Linckia are handy critters, when they are in good shape and healthy, they will reproduce by themselves (via arm drops). So my general advice is to let the star decide if there is enough food for another one!
The Ca reactor won't do anything for the food source, but it will help to keep some parameters from suddenly fluctuating. Keeping water parameters nice and stable is another big part of the battle!
Keep us posted!

 

[dek196]

I have been deterred from adding another Linkia by most people on this board, thanks again. The Linkia I have now is about 4+ inches across, so I think he will need as musc food as possible. Is there any other signs of disease I should look for other than the deteriorating arms?

 

[ophiura]

The arms of a Linckia should be plump. If you imagine a cross section through it, it should be basically round. When the arms flatten out or sink, become wrinkly, etc, this is a bad sign. Right now watch for whitish areas at the arm tips or base, or really anywhere. They would progress, over time. You still have quite awhile before you can be sure it made it through acclimation. If they die in the first month or so, it is usually from this.

 

[dek196]

Should I move him around any? He has been in a corner near the top front of my tank for the past two days. I wonder if I should place him on some liverock? It seems a little dangerous though.