Purple Linka Dying?????

[starr]

Hey, I bought a purple linka star and put him in the tank with a lionfish and eel, now I heard they would be fine BUT last night he looked like someone was picking on him, he had all his legs so I put him in a critter cage with a lid inside the tank, tied to the lid so he would have fresh water and air. I checked on him before bed and one leg had fallen off. This morning all legs but two have fallen off, he did have 6. I know hes not sick because I just got him, so I know someone picked on him and maybe the wounds were just too bad, nobody could get to him in the container... I wondering if he will be ok, if one arm will regenerate or if all of them will, just really if he will be ok and what the rules were with them getting better. THANKS!!!

 

[ithorian_r]

how did u acclimate him?? what are the water parameters on the tank? this would be helpful in figuring out what could be wrong.

 

[danedodger]

If he makes it I'm pretty sure the limbs will regenerate so don't worry about that for now. Concentrate on helping him survive! Hopefully someone who knows stars better than me will come along but from what I understand they need very clean water conditions so test and correct if any of your readings are off.

 

[ophiura]

What are your specific water parameters???? Especially specific gravity?
How long did you acclimate this star?
Please know that these are VERY DIFFICULT animals to keep, requiring a large, mature, pristine reef tank with 100+ lbs of LR and 100+ gallons. Most will starve to death, but yours is almost certainly suffering from osmotic shock, which kills within a month. Specific gravity should be 1.025-1.026 with an acclimation time around 4 or more hours. I am afraid the star is not in a suitable tank, with suitable tank mates and odds are not good (not impossible but not good) it will survive. But it is less likely, IMO, that anything attacked it.
I have a thread on these stars in the Reef Section called "IOTM: Seastars Part I" that will give you more information on this group of stars.

 

[earthyt]

Hi,
I was told that these starfish cannot be subjeted to air even when you transfer them from bag to tank....just passing this on....

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by earthyt
Hi,
I was told that these starfish cannot be subjeted to air even when you transfer them from bag to tank....just passing this on....

Welcome to the board! :cheer:
There are no worries about this, it is somewhat of a "old wive's" thing. If this killed them, none would ever make it to the LFS

Same is also true of not touching them without gloves. Both, I think, are attempts to explain the high mortality rate when in fact it is most likely due to lack of acclimation at any given stage of transport, and less than ideal water quality.