New starfish

[Wilkerson.reed]

Okay so I went to a frag swap today and I saw a red/orange starfish there... After asking a bunch of questions, they said it was reef safe, compatible with everything in my tank, and easy to care for. They said it was a linckia star (sorry don't know correct spelling) but now that I have read more... These starfish are apparently difficult to keep... After reading more, I saw that some people say that most "red linckia starfish" are actually a different type. I saw a thread with this link... http://m.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+528+581&pcatid=581
Is my starfish this kind and not actually linckia? This is the one I got today...

Sorry it's kind of hard to get good pictures but that is the star... Is this the star in the link or a linckia? What should I do to give this star the best chance of survival? How long should I drop acclimate it?

 

[jcosta26]

It's a red linkia, very sensitive, needs to be acclimated for atleast a few hours if not longer

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

It's a red linkia, very sensitive, needs to be acclimated for atleast a few hours if not longer

I drip acclimated him for about three and a half hours and he wasn't exposed to air unless he was during the car ride home... Is this okay?

 

[jcosta26]

That sounds good, as long as he wasn't touched by human skin. Many starfish live in tide pools and during low tide they are exposed to air. The main thing to worry about is not letting the oils on your skin touch them, that can kill them quickly

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Meh, never had issues on acclimation with stars or inverts. The Linka problem is it they dont do well in newer (under a year) and very clean tanks. Linkas do eat detritus bu my reaserch also says encrusting sponges mainly. So a small young clean established tank the tend to starve.

 

[Wilkerson.reed]

The ends of his arms look like they are bubbled up a little... Is this normal? What is it?