Starfish dying???
- Thread starter kogle
- Start date
O
osufarker
Guest
How much live rock do you have? Linkias are hard to keep. They do best in systems with lots of live rock.
ophiura
Active Member
How long did you acclimate the star?
What are your exact tank parameters, especially pH, salinity, alk?
Your star is almost certainly dying of acclimation shock, as starvation takes many, many months. This is one of the most common causes of death, and is extremely common. Most Linckia stars will die of starvation in smaller tanks, but that takes much longer.
These stars need large mature tanks...generally 100g with at least that much LR, set up a minimum, IMO, of 6 months. They can not be spot fed, and generally die of starvation in 9-12 months, IF they survive the first month after acclimation.
You sand sifter is also prone to acclimation shock and may also start losing bits of its arms. It is also at great risk of dying of starvation, and, if you are using a functional deep sand bed (meaning, part of your filtration), they are not recommended. The eat many of the beneficial creatures we try to cultivate in a sand bed.
What are your exact tank parameters, especially pH, salinity, alk?
Your star is almost certainly dying of acclimation shock, as starvation takes many, many months. This is one of the most common causes of death, and is extremely common. Most Linckia stars will die of starvation in smaller tanks, but that takes much longer.
These stars need large mature tanks...generally 100g with at least that much LR, set up a minimum, IMO, of 6 months. They can not be spot fed, and generally die of starvation in 9-12 months, IF they survive the first month after acclimation.
You sand sifter is also prone to acclimation shock and may also start losing bits of its arms. It is also at great risk of dying of starvation, and, if you are using a functional deep sand bed (meaning, part of your filtration), they are not recommended. The eat many of the beneficial creatures we try to cultivate in a sand bed.
kogle
Member
I only acclimated him for about an hour. My levels are:
Amon.= .25
trites= 0
trates= 40
I only use RO water so ph shouldn't be a problem should it? I don't have a tester for akl.
The sifter star has been in there a lot longer and is doing great.
One thing I should mention is I treated the tank for ich for 2 days until I had second thoughts.(This was about 2 weeks ago) My LFS said the treatment they gave me was safe for inverts but I read the directions and it contained copper so I discontinued use and did a 25% water change. I waited 2 days and did another 25% water change. I am going to do a 10% change tonight. I'm trying to rid the tank of copper. Any other ideas to get copper out? All of my other inverts are doing AOK.
Amon.= .25
trites= 0
trates= 40
I only use RO water so ph shouldn't be a problem should it? I don't have a tester for akl.
The sifter star has been in there a lot longer and is doing great.
One thing I should mention is I treated the tank for ich for 2 days until I had second thoughts.(This was about 2 weeks ago) My LFS said the treatment they gave me was safe for inverts but I read the directions and it contained copper so I discontinued use and did a 25% water change. I waited 2 days and did another 25% water change. I am going to do a 10% change tonight. I'm trying to rid the tank of copper. Any other ideas to get copper out? All of my other inverts are doing AOK.
viet-tin
Active Member
I was able to spot feed my linkia star...i fed it algae tablets and it accepted them. I had it for 2 years then it decided to jam its arm inside my power head and it got shredded up then died a few months later. I also have a friend that has had his in his 55 for a very long time. We got ours at the same time and his is still living. Some are able to be spot fed...
ophiura
Active Member
(at your LFS...you've done the right thing to come here). 1) Find new LFS for giving you any medicine for a tank with inverts with any copper. You may NEVER get copper out. Go buy a copper test kit or find an LFS that will test it. Some inverts have different tolerances to copper and it is not worth wasting money on them if you have detectable copper.
2) Get a new ammonia test kit. I doubt you have .25 levels. Some test kits (is it red sea?) give this 'false' reading. If you do have ammonia levels that high, there is trouble.
3) Find a new LFS if they gave you any indication that pH is not an issue with RO. Get a pH kit. It is a VERY IMPORTANT thing to measure, and frequently. While you are at it, get an alkalinity kit....especially if you are going to keep any corals down the road. A fall in pH can kill fish and a potential severe fall can be somewhat predicted by following alkalinity.
4) What fish do you have that showed the signs of Ick and when did you get them?
5) Find a new LFS if they sold you anything at the same time you were looking for a treatment for Ick!
FWIW, very few people have luck spot feeding Linckia stars. Some individuals may vary, and it also varies by species. Linckia multiflora, for example, wil often due quite well in this size tank and often smaller. Orange may do relatively better than blue but they are also smaller which may play a role. There are many variables but for the most part, Linckia stars do not do well in smaller tanks, are very sensitive to acclimation shock or rapid changes in tank parameters and can not be spot fed. Yes, this is a generalization and I know there are exceptions, but I do not recommend people buy them and hope they have one of these exceptions. They really do appear to be the minority.
viet-tin
Active Member
This was when i started and did not know anything about these stars but i didnt even acclimate it...i just threw it in my tank and i lived for 2 years...My friend and I also exchanged stars because he had mines and I had his. Again i just threw it in my tank and both have done fine. Kinda weird...maybe our linkias were mutants or something...
ophiura
Active Member
They actually can be pretty tough once established in captivity. People have done water changes with the star up on the glass and they've been out of the water for awhile with no problems (one "no no" was always to not expose them to air or they would die). But that isn't really an issue (I don't recommend it, but it won't kill them if brief). If there is not a major difference in tank parameters like salinity, pH, alk, etc, then there might not be a major problem. It definitely does happen that people throw 'em in and they last and some who spend a lot of time acclimating and they don't. Really, they are hit or miss in many ways. There could even be less common factors, like the use of different salt mixes, that might be an issue. It is definitely tough to call.
ophiura
Active Member
Well, you never know. We'll keep fingers crossed and hope the star pulls through this! It is usually not a good sign at this stage but I have heard similar situations where they pulled through it. We won't give up yet!
Salifert is a good brand of test kit. You can do a search for this topic. I think it is a common one!
Salifert is a good brand of test kit. You can do a search for this topic. I think it is a common one!