Is my blue starfish dead??

[scary]

I purchased a blue starfish last weekend and the first few days he was very active - climbing all over the rock and glass. Now he has settled between some rock where I can barely see him and hasn't moved in 4 days. His one leg just hangs there not attached to rock. The others look like they are sucked onto the rock. He has been in this position for 4 days.
Is he dead? How do you know if a star is dead?
Thanks for any info on blue stars.

 

[jobob]

blue starfish(linkia) are very hard to keep. they need alot of live rock and a mature reef(6months or older). how they die is, looks like something sucked out the air from it. deflated.but they could stay in one spot for days at a time. so i wouldnt worry. but if u have a new tank or dont have atleast 50lbs live rock. i would take him back to the store, maybe u will get ur money back because he will die.

 

[ophiura]

YOur Linckia is almost certainly doomed in that size tank.
Many do not make it past the first month and die from improper acclimation. How long did you acclimate?
How old is your tank?
What are your SPECIFIC water parameters especially nitrate, specific gravity and alkalinity?
How much LR do you have?
It is not abnormal for them to stay in one place for a long period, but considering the time you've had it, I would be worried.
Usually they do look deflated but if you haven't seen a real healthy one that may not make sense. They also develop whitish patches and basically seem to "melt" in areas.
But I strongly encourage you, if not dead, to return it unless it takes to spot feeding with they rarely do. Basically put food (shrimp, algae pellets, something) near the tip of an arm and see if it move onto it. Very few will. They are doomed to die of starvation in tanks under 100g without at least 100lbs of LR minimum. Not all will die, but the majority will.

 

[paulcoates]

I know some people will complain here, but try to move him with your hand. You should see some reaction from him.

 

[jobob]

if u touch him, he should stiffin up. like making a muscle.

 

[jobob]

ophiura, know alot about linkias. did u ever hear of them eating corals? mine ate my blue sponge then ate a xenia frag?? i thought they were reef safe? i think im goin to have to get rid of him.

 

[ophiura]

They are, IMO, quite likely to go after sponges. That is my gut feeling...
What color was the Linckia?
Keep in mind that they can smell stressed or dying corals and may take advantage of that, long before we can tell there is anything wrong with the coral. Regardless, individual behavior may vary. See if it will take to spot feeding. If it does, I am sure people will be very interested in getting it from you...

 

[scary]

Thank you for all your replys regarding my blue star.
I feel horrible and am very disappointed in my lfs. It is a very reputable one in our area and I let them know my tank size and they said it would be fine.
I have a 29 galloon hex with 35 pnds of live rock. and live sand.
I have a cleaner shrimp , 5 hermit crabs, little tiny snails and two percula clowns.
My nitrates , ph, trites and ammonia are all perfect.
my spg is .25
I see that my calcium is down at 250 and I think i need a water change to help that and then add calcium. I have never done that and am a bit nervous about it. My shrimp molts all the time so I don't know if the calcium is a problem. I heard it should be at 450. Does calcium affect the star?
I have been giving him invertabra smorgasborg 3 times a week to help promote his feeding.
I love my star - am I doomed?

 

[mwbilous]

what are those blue starfish that eat algae ? i thought they were reef safe

 

[beachlife]

scray, sorry but I would remove him....
linkias need large mature tanks like just about everyone has said in this thread.... sorry
john.

 

[ophiura]

Blue Linckia, or any Linckia DO NOT EAT ALGAE in the implied sense. They graze on LR, but not nuisance algae. If they did, we would all keep them....but they more likely feed on algal/bacterial films, the critters that feed on them, encrusting animals (sponges, bryozoans) or similar. IMO, the diet is pretty difficult to come up with, because if it was just algal/bacterial films, it would seem to me this would regrow rapidly in tanks...but it is CLEAR that in smaller tanks most of these stars are doomed to starve. I would imagine it is because they are feeding on encrusting animals like sponges (which take considerable time to recgrow) and thus they starve.
In the case of the blue Linckia, success increases in tanks over 100g. I think long tem success (over a YEAR) in a smaller tank is not all that common.
These guys are not filter feeders so any added food of the sort will not likely help them. I always suggest trying to spot feed with something - anything - in the hopes you have one of the one's that will adapt.
DO NOT ADD CALCIUM unless you know alkalinity and pH if not also magnesium. THis is a complex interaction, and adding one without following the others can be fatal.

 

[xnikki118x]

Ophiura, for my own curiosity and for the record, are there any linkias or otherwise colorful starfish that can survive in smaller tanks? You're the expert! (How does it feel to be the expert, anyway? Must be cool haha.)
Scary, I'd take him back to your LFS or see if someone on here would be interested in taking him off your hands. I'd gladly offer, but I have a 29-gallon with like 20lbs of live rock at best. He'd have better luck in your tank than mine, lol.

 

[ophiura]

IMO, the only Linckia suitable for fully packed smaller reef tanks (say 29 to 55g, but mature and with lots of rock) is Linckia multiflora.
In the 55-100g range, again with lots of LR and a mature reef, the orange, burgundy, purple might be OK. But IMO, still somewhat marginal in the lower end of the range. The Fromia stars may also fall into this catagory, though I still emphasize the larger tank sizes.
Blues are best left to 100g and over. They are big stars, and need a lot of microscopic food.
For smaller non reefs, of course, there are the predatory stars like chocolate chips, general and red African.
Brittle and serpentstars, excepting the green, are usually suitable for all stable mature tanks without triggers, puffers, or large wrasses.

 

[22caddy]

ophiura, just a quick question. I have an oppurtunity to get a blue linckia, but have a 20 gallon currently set up. Now don't get upset yet. I have a 110 that I will be setting up very soon. Need to finish the canopy and mount lights. Would the blue be able to live in the 20 long enough till the 110 is ready? I am thinking 7 or 8 months would be too long in the 20, but just wondered.

 

[ophiura]

Wait until the larger tank is stocked with all your LR and is at least 6 months old. Otherwise, you will be starving the blue in the hopes it lasts until the other is set up...but by that time it could be too late anyway. No point in rushing...
Also, the water quality in the 20 is far more variable than the larger tank, and this can cause a lot of trouble as well.
I would just wait until the larger tank is stable and mature. :yes: