Blue Linckia

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artoledo

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
343
Location
Miami, FL
Hey guys, this question is more directed to Melosu but if anyone has any insight let me know. I just bought a blue linckia starfish. I want to know the correct way to acclimate this guy. I dont want him to die like my last one. Thanks in advance.
 
slow drip acclimation over 3hrs. Maintain temp in the bag. Do not expose the star to air.
 
Rule No. 1 is do not expose him to air. When I did mine I would first acclimate him by temp by letting him sit in the bag in the tank for 25 mins. Then I would add a cup of water from the tank to the bag every 20 mins. When it gets full dump some down the sink and keep adding your tank water every 20 mins. After about 2 hrs then grab the starfish in the bag and drop the bag quickly under in your tank and then take the starfish out and pull the bag out of the tank and discard. It should mostly be your water in the bag by now so the little bit that got out should not affect your tank. Then place the starfish at the bottom and he should be OK. As long as he is acclimated to your tank while in the bag and does not touch air he will be OK. This is what I did with my two linknias. Any questions just ask. Here is a good link on them.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/toonen.htm
 
Salinity matching and water chemistry is more important than air exposure. 4-6hr. acclimation is recommended for these stars.
 
I used to think air exposure was critical too but then I watched a buddy move a orange linkia twice while moving takes around. Exposed it to air twice. Thing is still going.

That said, I tried my best to not expose my orange when I transferred everything from the 75 to the 180 ;)
 
I have exposed my linkia to the air and it lived for about 18 months.. The only place I have read about exposing them to air is bad is here? Oh and Doc foster and smith(sp)
I have also heard that touching them with a bare hand can casue them to become sick also, oils in skin bad for them.
Temp, pH, salinity IMO are important issues during acclimation. And not exposing them to the are can't hurt either. Being careful is not a bad thing.
 
I killed my first one by exposing to the air. I did the same procedure as now but just exposed to air. I know several that have had problems with this too. I`m not saying that salinity and water chemistry are not important as they are but I feel the not being exposed to air is just as important. IME and IMO. Looks like we got some pretty good advice from everyone on this.
 
Do Linknia's (SP?) ever leave water in their natural environment? I know a lot of starfish do, especially those that live in tidal or coastal regions.
 
hey guys. i had the time of my life acclimating the star. I started a drip acclimation thinking that it was the best thing for it and like an idiot i started dripping it in a cooler. Now a few hours passed by and i noticed that the cooler was not the same temp as my tank. So when i took the temp of the water in the cooler it was at 71!!!! I immediately poured a few cups into the cooler to warm things up a bit and then i dropped it into the tank. This morning it was moving so that must be a sign that its doing pretty well. Also, how fast of a drip is good enough for drip Aclmtn?
 
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