IMHO, the blue linkia is one of those items better left in the ocean.
No one REALLY knows what it eats and I think those that do get it to survive long term are just lucky.
Others may have a different opinion, but that's mine. :)
I had a blue linka and i dont think it lasted longer then a month. I hadnt tried it again up until 3 weeks ago and thats only cause someone gave it to me. I dont know if it will survive or not but its a 50/50 shot. My opinion i wouldnt buy another one cause no one is sure how to make it survive. :Cheers: If you decide to good luck
I inherited a blue one from the guy I got my liverock from. He's missing 3/4 of one of his legs thanks to one the crabs that the guy had. I didn't know that they were difficult, I just put him in when I added the live rock....He's lasted a couple of months and seems to be doing ok. Is there something that I might be able to do, to try and keep him alive?
If you want a start try a brittle or a serpent. You probably wont see them much, but the'll be a good addition to your cuc. I had an orange fromia star and it only lasted about a week.
Even though I do agree with the difficulty of them I have one that is over 4 yrs old. One of the keys is to make sure that it is not exposed to Air. They feed off of microbes in the tank. Every once in a while I`ll set an algea tab under him. BTW here he is.
I luv the look of those but the LFS guy told me they have trouble keeping them alive. I get attached to my pets so I won't get anything that will probably die.
I have had good luck with "white sand sifting stars" dont see them all the time, but its fun when they rise from the sand and crawl around the sand bed.
I just got one, the LFS exposed him to the air, after I read about not doing that. I should have not accepted it. So far after two weeks it's doing ok. I posted a question about the situation in the invert threads. I got my answer here I guess. Maybe right now it's ok but I bet it doesn't last long. I guess if I lose it I won't get another one either.
Maybe I need to be a little more assertive if I see the LFS handling the animal not in accordance with what I have read and not accepting it. I should have said no I don't want it if you are going to expose it to the air as you bag it up. Instead I figured he knew better than me and maybe it will be ok.
I bet it won't be in the long run. Here is a photo of it right now on the glass.