Star Fish

[jkat]

My wife wants to get a star fish that she can see we already have 2 brittle stars a brown and a black one but they never come out i see them some times at night but thats it .I was wondering if there was one i could get for her that would be out more so she will be happy. The thing is is the more she like the tank the more money i can spend lol.But anyways i dont think its big enouf for the linkias and the most of the others are only good for fish only so maybe a serpant star or something ? any help would be great thanks

 

[ophiura]

Well, a serpentstar is basically the same as a brittlestar, so it would be unlikely there would be behavioral differences.
How old is your tank?
How much LR do you have?
What are your water parameters, especially nitrates, specific gravity, pH and alkalinity?
In order to determine suitability for a Linckia, those are crucial questions.
But be forewarned, many of these stars will still "go into hiding" for periods of time. They aren't always out in sight.
I would suspect at this time that your tank would at least be suitable for Linckia multiflora if it is a reef and there is a good amount of LR in there. Maybe some other Linckia too but not the blue.

 

[axionjaxon]

i dunno how much help this is going to be, but my dad bought these little orange stars (maybe 1" across). They hang out and crawl around and are visible most of the time. I dunno what they are, but I only see them at one of my three LFS close to home. ps, they are cheap little buggers, i think he paid about $10 apiece

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by axionjaxon
i dunno how much help this is going to be, but my dad bought these little orange stars (maybe 1" across). They hang out and crawl around and are visible most of the time. I dunno what they are, but I only see them at one of my three LFS close to home. ps, they are cheap little buggers, i think he paid about $10 apiece

Hard to tell without a picture (any chance?), but most orange stars are either an orange Linckia or a Fromia, and neither are particularly hardy...or at least neither should be purchased without research into their care. I reckon if it is small it may be Fromia milleporella. How long have you had them?
Many will die of acclimation shock before ever leaving the LFS, many more withing a month of introduction into a hobbyist tank, and yet more at 7-12 months of starvation. They are often cheap, but that shouldn't be a reason to buy them, IMO, without research. Still could be wasting lives and throwing money away.

 

[axionjaxon]

honestly, im not sure what kind it is. Looked at pic of orange linkia, and im almost positive that isnt it. he has had them for almost a year. they were about 1" across when he bought them, they are all 3 thriving and growing (albeit slowly). Searched through all my pics of the tank, and this is best i could come up with. was hoping not to have to crop it this much so yall could have a better idea of its size (and see his awesome leather coral specimen) It's located bottom right corner

 

[ophiura]

Hard to tell - looks like Fromia milleporella. How big is the tank? How much LR? How long was the tank set up before adding them? Trying to get more info on survival rates on these guys

 

[axionjaxon]

This tank has been up for years and years. It was housing seahorses (who were breeding) until probably 2 years ago (but even then it was reef). It's 55 gal reef, no idea how much LR and sand. If you can tell me how to take an awesome pic and make it small enough these guys will attach it I have some good ones of the whole tank. I googled the fromea millewhatever you said it sounded like, and that's pretty close to what it looks like. If those guys can be bright orange, I'm guessin thats what it is.

 

[jkat]

My tank is about 8 months old i proly have bout 70 pounds lr and 60 pounds of base that is really comeing along most of it has coraline growing on it (the base rock ) my sal is .023 ph is 8.2 and every thing else is in order at 0

 

[ophiura]

IMO, your salinity should be bumped up a bit 1.025-1.026 range. But all in all things sound pretty good for something like a Linckia multiflora. Possibly also the orange Linckia. Maybe even a Fromia milleporella from the sound of the post above though that tank was older. I am still somewhat unclear on overall success with Fromia milleporella in many cases though. Tough call for me to make at the moment.

 

[jkat]

Ill do more research befor i actually get one but what is the diff between the linckia and the linckia muliflora?

 

[ophiura]

They are different species -
Linckia multiflora is relatively small compared to, say, and orange Linckia and certainly to a blue. They are also probably the "toughest" of the Linckia stars.
The orange actually may not be a true Linckia but a very similar relative. For our purposes, it is a "Linckia" in that it means reef safe, delicate, etc, etc
More research would be an excellent place to start!

 

[jkat]

Ok thanks for all your help

now its time for me to do some research so thanks again

 

[mlandrigan]

jkat: I'm going to start up a 125 gallon tank this summer. Due to financial constraints, i don't want to spend an arm and a leg on live rock. I see that you used a bunch of base rock. How is that working for you? - do you like it? It seems to me that as long as I'm patient, then it doesn't really matter whether I get live or base rock. Do you have any pictures of your base rock as it has cured along the way?
Matt

 

[jkat]

it actually worked out well i used most of it on the bottom and put the lr on top but as i have made room for and moved stuff around some of it has moved to the top. It still isnt as pretty as my lr rock yet but it is getting there and as far as pics go i have tried to take a ton of pics of my tank but i just cant seem to get good ones ill try to find a few that shows some of my base rock with it and post for you