BLUE STARFISH?

[KMyers18]

I got a blue star fish from my LFS this sat. and today it died. My water is fine so what gives are they hard to keep. I acclimated him for 1.5 hrs. Not sure what the deal is

 

[Nitrate]

IME Blue linkia's are hard to keep. Sometimes it doesnt matter how much trouble you go to they wont make it.

 

[BillyZ]

Linkias are tough. I had one that seemed fine for about a month... then one day I just couldn't find it anymore...

 

[KMyers18]

My LFS said he will give me another one but is it a waste of my time or would you try another ( this one is on him )

 

[BillyZ]

How old is your tank? what are the nitrate levels and SG? A young tank, tank with too high a level of Nitrates or a tank where the specific gravity fluctuates will have little to no chance of keeping the linkia, IMO.

So to be fair to the starfish, I would tell your LFS, "thanks for the offer, but could I try something a little more hearty thats about the same value?"

 

[Nitrate]

General Starfish are easy to keep, so are Chocolate chip if you dont have any corals.

 

[KMyers18]

Yeah your right i'll do that. My nitrates are like almost undetectable. But the tank is only 2 months old

 

[KMyers18]

Why cant you have corals with thoes stars?

 

[BillyZ]

if you don't have one already, look for a nice black brittle starfish (not green). They can get quite large and are fairly hearty. I've had mine since I set up the tank 2 years ago. If you streatched out his legs, he'd probably be about a foot across.

 

[Nitrate]

The Chocolate Chip will eat anything it parks over including soft corals. I've heard that the General will do the same, but mine doesnt touch corals.

 

[KMyers18]

Hey, Thanks for the advice, Im going to get somthing more hardy. And i do have corals so..... But the blue linkia looks so cool The brittles look like spiders :| But i didnt know the blues were so hard to keep.... now i do thanks

 

[quarryshark]

Serpent stars are hearty and peaceful Consider a banded Tiger. I have one and he actually comes out during the day sometimes.
Also my little orange star is a hearty little gal. Look in my gallery to see her.

 

[indy]

i think orange linkia are more hardy. I hope so as I'm ordering one soon for my 1st real star.

 

[seaham358]

In a 2 month onld tank no linkia IMO will live. You should drip that star at least 3 hours. You should not touch them with your fingers because the oils from you skin will kill them over time.
Acclimation is very important with anything you add to the tank

 

[Corty]

Serpent Stars get another push from me. Mine is full of personality, eats from my hand, and is always doing something interesting (playing "mothership" to the herd of hermits underneath him, scaring the tang, stretching out on the front glass, looking like he got squashed between two bits of rock, going INSIDE one bit of rock from the back, and sticking his arms out all the little caves - looked like I had a small genetic mishap in my tank for about a week).

 

[quarryshark]

I want to second the notion of no linkia in a new tank. They are hard enough to keep in an established tank.
Too many other interesting types to consider IMO.

 

[agoodyear]

When you put him in the aquarium, was any part of his body exposed to the air? Blue Linkias are notorious for being difficult to care for. I had one too, and mine died in about a week.