starfish- read!

[denduke]

Here's a little Balli star (? is this a kind of Linkia, never could get any response, oh well) I got last summer for $5. He seems to have grown some. Crawls everywhere. If you put a new live rock in he camps out on it for days. This is a 10 gal Eclipse about 3 years old. Some people can get lucky maybe? Still waiting for him to croak. $.02...

 

[celacanthr]

It is pretty difficult by that picture to ID that star. A closer pic should help.

 

[ophiura]

Couple of things:
IMO the tank is too young. It should be at least 6 months old.
I agree that the larger the tank and the more LR, the better the odds of keeping these. It is rare for them to do well in smaller tanks...most taking about a year to 18 months to die of starvation.
Some can be kept in relatively smaller systems - but the term is RELATIVELY. 75lbs of LR in one tank may be far more dense - and hence have far less surface area than 75lbs in another tank. It is difficult to generalize. So I rarely suggest these stars for smaller systems.
I really never suggest a Fromia (and I do believe the above pic is a Fromia) in smaller tanks because few do survive long term. Give it 18 months before being comfortable

Unless you are constantly adding LR - that sentence (that it camps on new LR for days) is very very telling.
IMO, Calcium and any other parameter is critical to these stars. They should all be within ideal reef ranges. They will, IMO, be sensitive to calcium, alk, pH, etc problems...so all should be checked and kept within range.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I had an organe linkia before hurricane isabell ruined my tank - they're quite hardy and can live for a couple of years in an algae rich environment. Remember to try to feed some (very little) frozen (thawed) food every once in a while (leave it in front of the star fishes path when it's on the substrate.

 

[ophiura]

It is arguable, in the wild, wether seastars die of old age at all. Living a few years in captivity is not a good sign....these are extremely long lived animals in the wild.
I want to claridy that they do not eat "algae" specifically as we know it - in terms of macroalgae, nuisance algae, etc.. They feed on microbial/bacterial/algal films (or the critters that feed on it) as well as encrusting animals (sponges, bryozoans). It needs to be made very clear that these animals do not eat algae alone, IMO. If they did, most people could keep them in any size tank...and yet this does not happen. I consider this a very important point....because I don't want people reading this thinking they are easy to keep. In addition, few are reported to spot feed on anything. SOME do, but most don't. Again, I don't want people leaving with the impression that they are as a general rule easy to keep. As a general rule they are not, but there are some exceptions.
It helps to hear about these situations, but they should not be counted on for every individual in every tank, IMO.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

thanks for the correction and clarification!

 

[fishfatty]

i need help! now all the suden my starfish's leg has been cut off! i woke up this morning to find this out. What should/can I do!?!?!? :scared:

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by FishFatty
i need help! now all the suden my starfish's leg has been cut off! i woke up this morning to find this out. What should/can I do!?!?!? :scared:
It sounds like osmotic shock. How long did you acclimate him?

 

[denduke]

Thanks Ms Ophiura, for the info. Couldn't find "Balli" info anywhere. My serpentine is like a pet to feed but like you say the little orange dude would never accept any food. Formia, huh? I understand the need for diligence in choosing critters 'cause it's a shame lotta stuff leaves the LFS only to be doomed. I new the inevitability of the outcome but so it goes. The demise in my tank; ain't lotta difference in whoever got the little dude but never saw one that small and he was s'posed to be reef safe, only 5 bucks, yada, yada.....Guilty as charged...It's sad situation but seems to be the nature of the deal. We just need to try harder. Authoritative advice from knowlegeable people sure is a blessing/help from this site! Thanks again...

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by FishFatty
i need help! now all the suden my starfish's leg has been cut off! i woke up this morning to find this out. What should/can I do!?!?!? :scared:

Wow. When I read "looking into getting this star" it was a list of why it was not a good choice and that is what I saw. I didn't even see that it was then purchased. As indicated in all the posts, they are not at all easy to keep, an required extensive acclimation. Definitely one for a LOT of research.
What are the exact water parameters? How did you acclimate it?
IMO, the tank, as mentioned, was too young and not suitable for this star. It is, I agree, more likely than not suffering from osmotic shock and the odds of it recovering are very very slim.

The arm was not "cut off" unless you have puffers, wrasses, etc...but the "melting" is typical of osmotic problems. The only chance would be for it to be in an ideal system, so knowing water parameters is critical.
DenDuke...
I know even the best LFS sell this star to small systems. People just don't really know its needs. Whatever you learn will be a valuable contribution to understanding this star. Its not dead yet

 

[fishfatty]

i acclimated him for 4 hours.
temp-79
salinity-1.025
amm- 0
trite-0
trate-0
ph-8.1
??

 

[ophiura]

An important question with these stars in selecting specimens is what is the specific gravity at your LFS and did they acclimate?
Also, what method did you use to acclimate?

 

[fishfatty]

i used the drip method, and floating method...

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by ophiura
An important question with these stars in selecting specimens is what is the specific gravity at your LFS and did they acclimate?
Also, what method did you use to acclimate?

I always ask my lfs how long they acclimate their stars. I passed over a beautiful multiflora linckia two weeks ago because the lfs guy told me he acclimated it for a half hour!