Can't keep starfish:(

[jcosta26]

I've tried 3 times to keep starfish, which are my favorite inverts, and all 3 have failed. I have a bunch of brittle stars on my tank which do fine and one big brittle star who's leg stretch out to over 8 inches. They all do great, but I've tried to keep a red linkia, blue linkia, and a tile starfish. All from different stores, and all were purchased at different times. They seem to slowly die and almost melt away, any advice??

 

[twilliard]

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]
I know they are quite sensitive

 

[bruleyii]

Could they be starving?

 

[Lynn52]

They have to be very slowly acclimated. I usually do a minimum of 3 hours drip acclimatization on starfish and urchins. I've only kept linkias. They need a mature tank just to get enough food.

 

[hybridazn]

How long do they usually last before withering away?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I don't know much about starfish, sorry to hear it :-/

 

[Sabellafella]

Thats the million dollar question, friends and online suggest you do not touch them(with bare hands), dont take them out Of water, and a successfull acclimation can have you keep one of these beautys.

 

[melypr1985]

We have a hard time keeping them at the store as well. The best we ever did (we didn't lose a single one for over a month as they sold) we instructed the wholesaler to package and ship them with zero air in the bags. Then during the acclimation we made a point of never exposing them to air. It took a couple hours to get them acclimated and some trouble to keep them under water the entire time, but it worked out well.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

My orange Linckia seems to be doing well. As they are bacterial film eaters, I think carbon dosing helps to ensure enough food for them.

Just my experience.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Linkias and fromias need established tanks, and about 50g per starfish. Most eat bio-films, so hence the establishment tank and size.

Oils from our skin may cause issue. Many are found in tidal zones, so being wxposed to air shouldn't be an issue.

They are extremely sensitive to salinity swings, so a long acclimation and diligent top-offs are essential.

Melting and falling apart are indications of water chemistry issues. Arms shrinking and disappearing is an indication of starvation.

 

[melypr1985]

Linkias and fromias need established tanks, and about 50g per starfish. Most eat bio-films, so hence the establishment tank and size.

Oils from our skin may cause issue. Many are found in tidal zones, so being wxposed to air shouldn't be an issue.

They are extremely sensitive to salinity swings, so a long acclimation and diligent top-offs are essential.

Melting and falling apart are indications of water chemistry issues. Arms shrinking and disappearing is an indication of starvation.

eh. we must have gotten lucky then! I'll remember this for the next time we get them in. :)

 

[cloak]

Assuming they do in fact eat biofilms, wouldn't you see the mouth scraping away at this if the glass was left untouched for an extended period of time? How exactly does the feeding process work with these things? I've had an Orange Linkia in my 20 gallon since the 17th of December and everything seems to be ok. I know the tank is a little small, but it's been set up for about 8 years so I thought I'd give it a shot. Anyways, I've tried feeding it NLS pellets, live black worms and Nori but it doesn't seem to be interested in these. I was just curious if I was missing something or what, because I haven't seen anything that would indicate feeding behavior aside from sitting in one spot for awhile. (I'm assuming it found something good)

Here's a picture of it in my sump btw. Sometimes I'll put it down there for a week or so to feed. (allegedly)

 

[James Johnson]

They eject their intestine and cover their food to eat so you would see no teeth marks

 

[Roboson]

I have a 6 inch Fancy Brittle Star that I just got from my LFS. I've had it about 4 days and it seems to be doing great. Very active at night. I feed it sinking pellets.

I did a lot of research before getting a starfish and from what I've read I've learned a few things.

1) target feeding is a must for larger stars. Otherwise they wither away (or in the case of brittle stars, start seeing tank mates as food).

2) they can't handle changes in water quality.

3) they need places to hide as well as open spaces to spread out.

I'd love some tiny brittles, but no one actually sells them or anything. Lucky you.

 

[Mike in CT]

Linkias, from what I can tell, probably should not be imported because they are just abut impossible to keep in a home aquaria. It's like buying a fish that 99% of the time will never eat. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Roboson]

Linkias, from what I can tell, probably should not be imported because they are just abut impossible to keep in a home aquaria. It's like buying a fish that 99% of the time will never eat. Just my 2 cents.

Agreed. As far as I can tell, no one knows anything about them or really what they eat. The only thing for sure is that they are very difficult to get to thrive in an aquarium.

 

[hybridazn]

I had a blue linkia for a little over a year and it was fine. Then just out of the blue it deteriorated and died over the span of 6 months. The only thing I recall ever seeing it eat was asterina starfish.

 

[kacrocorals581]

Probably starving sadley most do in the aquarium trade

 

[mort]

I think a lot of the problem is acclimation and their price point. They are normally very cheap and therefore don't often get the acclimation they need (the same for snails and other cuc). Rough shipping and poor acclimation throughout the whole chain most certainly dooms them. You often see the same thing with snails who seem ok for a week or two and then just die off. This delayed reaction might not be your fault and has happened before you got them. They are possible though and there are some that do ok in aquaria so do some research and i'm sure you be able to keep one.

 

[cloak]

They eject their intestine and cover their food to eat so you would see no teeth marks

How would this work with biofilms on the glass and rocks though? Do they just drag their intestine over it as they move along? Being that rocks can be a little jagged sometimes, this sounds a little risky IMO.