wieselspor
Member
My LFS has an orange linka. Most things I read say they are reef safe. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice. It would add some nice contrast to my tank.
Thanks
Thanks
Orange linka starfish
- Thread starter wieselspor
- Start date
jobob
Member
they are very hard to keep. u need a big tank mature tank(atleast a yr old). other than that they are reef safe. and are very pretty. but they are just about impossible to spot feed, so most end up strarving to death. so if u dont have atleast a 100gal tank i wouldnt try it. i have a 55gal with 90lbs live rock and someone bought me one as a gift, he lived for about 8 months the slowly got smaller and died.
ctgretzky9
Member
Originally Posted by wieselspor
My LFS has an orange linka. Most things I read say they are reef safe. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice. It would add some nice contrast to my tank.
Thanks
They are beautiful, but you will need to have:
1. A "mature" tank, a year or older is best
2. A larger tank, with plenty of live rock. These starfish are "grazers" for lack of a better term. While they will feed opportunistically, they seem to survive off organisms on live rock.
3. Stable water parameters over a long term, and the ability to keep it this way.
4. Proper acclimation by drip or "adding to bag" over an extended period; usually around 2 hrs give or take.
5. to never expose it to air before, during or after acclimating.
Many people have kept them successfully if all of the above are met.
My LFS has an orange linka. Most things I read say they are reef safe. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice. It would add some nice contrast to my tank.
Thanks
They are beautiful, but you will need to have:
1. A "mature" tank, a year or older is best
2. A larger tank, with plenty of live rock. These starfish are "grazers" for lack of a better term. While they will feed opportunistically, they seem to survive off organisms on live rock.
3. Stable water parameters over a long term, and the ability to keep it this way.
4. Proper acclimation by drip or "adding to bag" over an extended period; usually around 2 hrs give or take.
5. to never expose it to air before, during or after acclimating.
Many people have kept them successfully if all of the above are met.
ophiura
Active Member
Please read my IOTM thread on Seastars at the top of this forum.....it will give you a lot of information on this type of seastar which is, as mentioned, very difficult to keep in small, immature tanks (meaning smaller than 100g, with less than 100lbs minimum of LR, 6 months old, reef tank with pristine water conditions).
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180772
Also note the proper spelling is "Linckia" and you will find a lot of posts searching on that name.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=180772
Also note the proper spelling is "Linckia" and you will find a lot of posts searching on that name.
jon321
Member
Not meaning to jack the thread, but im in the works of setting up a ~500g reef tank with ~500g fuge. It will have about 1000lbs of lr and ls between the two systems. Now my question is: Do I still have to wait a full year to add a linkia(s)? Can I add one earlier due to the immense size of the system? And once the tank is fully matured (1 year+) how many total linkias could I maintain in the tank?
thanks!
Jon
thanks!
Jon
ophiura
Active Member
It is impossible to know. I would wait at least 6 months, personally.
The LR in the fuge is of little consequence here...they feed directly on the LR, not on things washed in. You could probably keep on in the fuge, but it doesn't help those in the main tank, IMO.
This is my stance on how many to add:
If the Linckia are healthy and getting enough food, THEY will reproduce. THEY can basically determine the suitability of the system. So I would not load up the tank. Maybe a Blue and another one or two specimens, but it would be far more of a compliment to your skills if the animals reproduced themselves
The LR in the fuge is of little consequence here...they feed directly on the LR, not on things washed in. You could probably keep on in the fuge, but it doesn't help those in the main tank, IMO.
This is my stance on how many to add:
If the Linckia are healthy and getting enough food, THEY will reproduce. THEY can basically determine the suitability of the system. So I would not load up the tank. Maybe a Blue and another one or two specimens, but it would be far more of a compliment to your skills if the animals reproduced themselves
