blue serpant star

[SlamaJama]

blue star, will it attack my clams?

Linckia Sea Star, Blue

 

[Missy Johnson]

that is a blue linkia not a blue serpent....and no it will not attack your clams....they eat algae. but i'm warning you, they are the harder star species to keep alive so make sure your params are stable.

 

[Deanos]

Also, if you don't have it yet....acclimate it SLOWLY!!!!! Like 3-4 hrs of slow drip. Poor acclimation is one of the top killers of linckia sp.

 

[SlamaJama]

kk...ty

 

[jhale]

ugh, that is a near impossible species to keep alive, let alone if your lucky enough to get one that has survived the collecting and shipping.

see this depressing thread of mine where anthony calfo rags on me for buying one.
it's actually a good disusion on aclimating them and the care they need. good luck, if yours lives for more than a few months let me know.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=592075

 

[Missy Johnson]

we have had ours for over a year.....i can't believe it, but we have.

 

[jhale]

that's lucky, I got one from LA that lookede healthy it was dead in about two months.
I would never buy one again, I don't think they should be sold at all, they must be dying by the thousands.

 

[SlamaJama]

well so far it alive and it quickly hid behind my rocks...figures i would pick a hard star to keep...i needed to make a min order andit was only 14 bux...its pretty big, id say 8 inch tip-tip..ill read that post shortly andlet u kno how it does, it has plenty algae to eat so i hope it lives..i just got a huge gold and purple clam from mike and i didnt want the new star to eat it..lol

 

[SlamaJama]

wow got up to page 3...well seems more pro than con on its survival...most feel no acclimation...(which btw i didnt do with it) so i guess we'll see, ive lost more in 1 shot in ths hobby than 14 bux

 

[MightyMike]

I read somewhere, (if I don't remember where does that make it a lie?) that these linckia can take up to two years to starve, and that keeping them for a year or whatever, although seemingly successfully, actually meant little regarding the fragility of the creatures. I could be totally misquoting something, just my .02

 

[jhale]

wow got up to page 3...well seems more pro than con on its survival...most feel no acclimation...(which btw i didnt do with it) so i guess we'll see, ive lost more in 1 shot in ths hobby than 14 bux

:irked:
what? that's a crappy way to look at the things you put in your tank, come one. It's only $14 so who cares if it dies?
sorry if you did not mean it that way, but that's how it's reading.

I think the linkia's are some of the most beautiful reef animals, I made the same mistake as well in buying one without doing the research, but I felt sick as I watched mine die a slow death with nothing I could do. I really could not have cared how much it cost at that point I wished I never bought it. And as for Live Aquaria they have to change their description on the care involved. I think they have it listed as easy, that's only if you get one that lives which seems to be one in a few thousand.

 

[Deanos]

Jon, they do have them listed as difficult, but read this from their website:

"In the aquarium, small pieces of clam meat or tablets can be placed under the starfish" :irked:

 

[jhale]

well I'm glad they changed the listing.
that could be due to some conversations I had with them, I got to know the CS people pretty well after our great group by. it's amazing what will happen when you mention RC, MR and Anthony Calfo all in the same sentence. I kind of got on their case about a few of their listings. I wanted them to stop selling the linkias, at least they changed them to difficult, they really need to be "expert level" though if they feel they have to sell them :irked:

 

[jhale]

I'm going to have to start calling them again, that part about the clams and shrimp is complete BS ! marine biologists are not even sure what they eat in out tanks, it's sure as h*ll not shrimp and clams. does it look like the linkia could catch a shrimp in the wild? and there has never ever been a report of one touching a clam before. morons. this is just getting me pissed at them all over again. unfortunately most of the linkias do die a slow death of starvation.

 

[Deanos]

SJ, how's your star doing?

 

[SlamaJama]

ok...i see some blue moving behind the rocks...cant see how i can target feed with it i thr so tight...thxs for asking

 

[Hitsnorth]

I have never target fed my blue linkia he finds things to eat. Everyone says how hard they are to keep but I dont do anything special with mine and he seems really happy.

 

[Deanos]

cant see how i can target feed with it i thr so tight...

Don't try to target feed it. Most 'experts' believe they eat detritus & algae.

 

[SlamaJama]

tg...whew...

 

[Hitsnorth]

I definately agree with that mine eats algae.. He makes his way all over the tank eating algae. I had a clam(Serpeant star Killed him!!!!) and he was never bothered by the blue linkia.