Orange Linkia starfish placement

[nanahugs]

I just got my order from this website and there is an orange linkia starfish in this order. It isa currently being acclimated and still has an hour and a half to go. Once it is done being acclimated, how do I place it in my aquarium? Do I just drop it in or place it on a piece of rock or put it by my back glass where all my algae is?
Also, I keep my tanks at 1025 and I was wondering if anybody tested the salintiy of the water from this website. I meant to do it but I forgot in all the excitement of my new order arriving.

 

[elvictre]

Do not expose the star to air. That IMO is the most important part. Take a extra few hours to acclimate also.
Vic

 

[nanahugs]

Thanks you for your response. The orange linka is now in my tank. I was careful not to expose it to air. It landed upside down on my sandbed, but quicikly righted itself. It has moved over two of my rocks already. It does not stay in one place for long. I hope this is a good sign. Once it finds the back glass of my aquarium it will have plenty more to eat.
Besides Algae, what does the Orange Linkia Starfish eat?
Thanks again for your response.

 

[elvictre]

Putting it in upside down was a good thing. I am not sure what they actually do eat. My Blue Linka grazes on the rocks all day. I am one of the lucky ones that can spot feed mine. What I do is put algae sheet on a clip when the star is one the glass and it finds it's way over. Another this I do is place a frozen cube of brine or mysis under him and scare the other fish away to give it time to consume some.
Good Luck
Vic

 

[ophiura]

There is no real issue with exposure to air. This is an explaination given for the dismal survival rate of Linckia, as people do not appreciate their extreme sensitivity to salinity. If air killed them, none would make it to the LFS. I assure you they are exposed to air during collection. While it should be minimized, brief exposure to air is not fatal...nor is handling them briefly.
Acclimation errors and rapid changes in water parameters kills them.
The specific gravity from this site is somewhere around 1.026 if I recall.
The most important thing is that they do not eat algae. Their specific diet is unknown but it is definitely not algae in the specific sense (eg hair, macro, etc). They may eat microbial and algal films, or more likely, IMO the critters that feed on that...or encrusting sponges, etc. In tanks without a lot of LR, they are likely to starve within a year, so about 18 months is considered the "success" mark.
Acclimation shock sets in within a month, so if you see white patches or "melting" in the next few weeks - it was acclimation.
Few of these stars will take to spot feeding. I encourage trying as some people do have success and that will be a great help. But many will not take it.