I purchased my star a few days ago and it was doing fine... moving quite well all over the tank but as for last night through the day today he was sluggish moving and this afternoon looked like it had a hole in the top center of the star now probably not my best choice of a first star but just a few moments ago it looked like something gel-like coming out of the hole any advice of what could be wrong with my star is much appreciated...
need info on orange linkia star
- Thread starter phantomfisher
- Start date
It had a good supply of algea and also seaweed particles (I read that they eat that as well).... water stats were all good... my star didn't survive 
it was doing real good for the first 4 days I had it then it went down hill... could it be possible that one of my crabs hurt it?? had 4 hermits and 1 emerald and 1 anemone crab in with it...
it was doing real good for the first 4 days I had it then it went down hill... could it be possible that one of my crabs hurt it?? had 4 hermits and 1 emerald and 1 anemone crab in with it...If it makes you feel any better--I have never had good luck with stars. I've had sand-sifting stars, little red reef stars, and currently have a red serpent star. The sand-sifting stars lasted about a year then disappeared. The little red reef star lasted about 4 or 5 days, then disappeared.
The red serpent star has been with me for about 4 years. He is doing awesome--although he spends most of his time hiding among the LR.
I think the difference is that serpent stars are more active feeders--when I feed the tank, he gets really active and puts his arms out to pick up food. The more passive stars seem to be harder to keep--probably because they are so slow and aren't as proactive in finding food and therefore have trouble surviving in our clean tanks.
BTW--I have a red serpent star--I think the green ones are a lot more aggressive and have been blamed for snagging fish from time to time. So if you try a serpent star, go for a red one.
The red serpent star has been with me for about 4 years. He is doing awesome--although he spends most of his time hiding among the LR.
I think the difference is that serpent stars are more active feeders--when I feed the tank, he gets really active and puts his arms out to pick up food. The more passive stars seem to be harder to keep--probably because they are so slow and aren't as proactive in finding food and therefore have trouble surviving in our clean tanks.
BTW--I have a red serpent star--I think the green ones are a lot more aggressive and have been blamed for snagging fish from time to time. So if you try a serpent star, go for a red one.
Contrary to the belief that stars are just "algae grazers", they feed on things not usually found on LR that isnt very old. They feed on sponges, microfauna and other things that are still not confirmed.
The point is, no one is sure exactly the diet of Linkia.
What they do know, in the aquarium, is that they need a huge amount of LR to graze on. This must also be LR that has been in an established tank for more than a year. They also seem to do well in tanks that are "overfed" a bit, but without a large upswing in nitrates. It is a tough balance.
Stars introduced into aquariums of less than a year old have high mortality rates. This is not a beginner life form to try because they look cool.
Linkia also need almost pristine, stable water parameters. They do not tolerate changes in salinity especially, or pH.
Mine just passed the 1 year mark:
The point is, no one is sure exactly the diet of Linkia.
What they do know, in the aquarium, is that they need a huge amount of LR to graze on. This must also be LR that has been in an established tank for more than a year. They also seem to do well in tanks that are "overfed" a bit, but without a large upswing in nitrates. It is a tough balance.
Stars introduced into aquariums of less than a year old have high mortality rates. This is not a beginner life form to try because they look cool.
Linkia also need almost pristine, stable water parameters. They do not tolerate changes in salinity especially, or pH.
Mine just passed the 1 year mark:
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