Very frustrated once again

[jamal-188]

Today was not a good day and it's only lunch time. My yellow tang that has been battling for illness after illness for 3 months has finally died. Also my new blue linkia has started to disnegrate. This is my second blue linkia that has done this. I drip acclimated them both for around 7 hours, temp, SG, and pH were exactly the same as my tank when I introduced them. I guess I"m just not meant to have one

 

[snapcrackler]

Steve Allen, on wetwebmedia, writes that he went through 6 linckias dying before he finally gave up. They say that around 90% of them don't make it through the first month or so before they die/disintegrate.

So don't feel bad.. the linckia you got was probably on it's way out anyway when you got it. And the tang could have been in rough shape when you got it too.

 

[jamal-188]

Wow I don't think I'll go through that many linkia's before I give up. I think the only way I'll try again is to buy one from somebody who has an established tank with a living specimen.

The yellow tang is very upsetting as well. A few days after I purchased him he developed white fuzzy patches and ick. So I decided to treat with hypo. Well, not realizing the alk dropped and so did the pH he got red burn marks on his body. Daily 20% water changes got him in better shape. Then when he started to get worse again so I treated with medication. After the treatment he looked much better for a week or so until he started slipping back again. I treated with a different medication and actually did it 2 times in a row to make sure it would fully cure him. Same thing happened as before, looked much better for a week then started to slip back. Went back to the 20% water changes and he started loosing color and fins started to get real ragged, he stopped eating flakes an donly nibbled seaweed. Then he dies. The bad thing is he's in a 44g tank I had set up as my Q tank because I purchased a bunch of fish online. The other 3 fish in the tank never suffered any problems and are doing great. Don't understand why I seem to have these problems

 

[stresco]

Im sorry for your losses... But I wouldnt give up if i were you. It is possible to get a healthy one. I have one in my tank that has been in there for over 8 months. Couple of things to consider are:

1. Was it healthy when you got it? When i finally bought mine, it was in a tank with 30 other Blue Linkias that had been at the LFS for 3 weeks. I kept going back to the store 2-3 times a week to check on it.

2. Acclimation? I drip acclimated mine for 3 hours before adding it to my tank. (i see you did a 7 hour drip, maybe the LFS didnt do as well and it was suffering from SG shock).

3. Handling? Never Ever touch one with your bare hands. Your skin touching the linkia can contaminate it, causing it to deteriorate (please don't ask me why...) Whenever i need to handle it, i stick my hand inside of a glad bag and use it like a sterile glove.

4. Air? Direct exposure to air is a nono. Make sure that the amount of time that the linkia is out of the water is minimal to 0.0%. Like a sponge, direct contact with the air can kill it.

I hope that helps.

 

[jamal-188]

I've heard about the handling and air but a long thread on RC discussed these issues a while back and some of the "experts" said it's just a rumor and will not hurt the star. Don't know who/what to belive but I did touch mine with my bare hand and it was exposed to the air for about 2 seconds so maybe that did it. If I try again I'll make sure not to touch it and leave it in the water, it's not like it will hurt. The problem is locally my stores will not hold them and they are sold within a couple days so you never know if they are really healthy or not. The guy where I bought this said the 2 in the tank were very active and this guy was at the top of the tank crawling all around so I thought that was a good sign. The first one I ordered was online and I've heard shipping them is very tough but my maroon linkia survived and I figurd the LFS's have them shipped in anyway. Maybe I'll try ordering one online again hoping to bypass the potential poor acclimation at my LFS's.

 

[snapcrackler]

I hope you get one that works out for you.. as time goes on in this hobby we discover more specific things that creatures benefit and don't benefit from!!

For example, many green serpent starfish do not benefit from a giant crab tearing it apart and eating most of it (I know this from personal experience).

 

[jamal-188]

For example, many green serpent starfish do not benefit from a giant crab tearing it apart and eating most of it (I know this from personal experience).

Lol, yeah I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, especially in the begining before I found this site and actually thought my LFS knew what they were talking about. I just spend soooo much time and money on this and it's very upsetting when something dies despite all my efforts and time researching. This is a great hobby and I'm not going to give up as we I belive we learn from everything good and bad that happens.

 

[stresco]

LMAO, I know what you both mean... I found out the hard way that Coral Beauties and Moray Eels dont make good tank mates

 

[snapcrackler]

whoa, I bet that coral beauty looked like one beauty of a snack to that eel..... 8O

Jamal let us know how your next starfish goes.

 

[stresco]

Well, thats what i get for listening to the guys at the LFS. (Long before i found this site)

 

[beachbumin]

Well I went through two about as fast as you did jamal so dont feel to bad. The funny part is I almost bought another one last time I was in my LFS, go figure i guess!!