My poor starfish

[Eissie]

I have an orange lincka ( sp??) and I'm a little worried he is not eating anything. He stays on my glass and never anywhere else. They eat algea right? But he is never on my lr where algea is. Should I try putting food under him or something? I don't want him to die the poor thing.

 

[wontonflip]

How long have you had it? Was he eating when you first got him? What are your parameters? More info please.

 

[Eissie]

Sorry. Last par. check was three days ago and they were
P.H: 8.0
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 30 (spikes caused by stirring up the crud in the back of my sump)
Phos: 1.0

And as far as him "eating" i have never witnesed him eathing anything. I was told he would be like a scavanger, but the thing is i never see him anywhere except on my glass. I have even moved him to my lr and as fast as he can he is right back to the glass.

 

[Eissie]

oh and i have had him about 2 months

 

[Sir Alex]

Linkias are very sensitive so the nitrates and phosphates might be effecting him.

The best way to feed starfish is to cut a small piece of shrimp or squid and put it under their mouth. If he doesn't respond...

 

[Sir Alex]

oh and i have had him about 2 months

Oh, have you fed him? He might be hungry caus there's usually not enough food in tanks to support them.

 

[Eissie]

Oh, have you fed him? He might be hungry caus there's usually not enough food in tanks to support them.

Well see, thats what i was thinking. But the lfs i got him from said. "Oh no no, he will move around and eat when he is hungry." Yeah right. So any type of shrimp?

 

[Sir Alex]

Well see, thats what i was thinking. But the lfs i got him from said. "Oh no no, he will move around and eat when he is hungry." Yeah right. So any type of shrimp?

Yah like chopped up table shrimp.

 

[Eissie]

Okay. I'll give that a try. Keep ya posted.

 

[Eissie]

Well i put the shrim under him seceral times and it never seemed interested. I sure hope he pulls through. :<

 

[mbrew]

I got a sand sifter about a week ago he is a pimp! Lol best of luck

 

[Marines_Wife]

Someone else on here had a blue linckia that they were concerned about as well, she is always on the glass and they were wondering the same thing. I think the general consensus of that thread was that it is very common for them to hang out on the glass and chill. I was able to find this from Bifferwine though

"Nobody knows what linkias eat. That's why they have such a poor survival rate in captivity. It's very rare for someone to be able to keep one alive for more than a few months. They are one of those "experts only" animals that not even the "experts" can keep alive."

Thats from 2008 though so I dont know if anything new has come about in the way of knowledge.

 

[little_fish]

I got a sand sifter about a week ago he is a pimp! Lol best of luck

Please return this guy. This is one of my biggest pet peeves is when people buy this creature, almost no one has a tank big enough to support one. They require a huge mature sandbed, and in our little tanks they just rip through the sand eating all the good stuff that lives in there and then they starve to death.

And marines_wife is correct about the linkas, but they do tend to do better in larger, mature tanks. Someone here has been able to keep their linkas alive for a few years now. I dont know if the linka is going to make it in your system, especially because they are so sensitive to nitrates. Probably more so than any other creatures. I would work on getting your nitrates down to zero for the best chance of him surviving in your tank

 

[Marines_Wife]

I was curious what would be deep enough for a sand sifting star and what I was able to come up with us at least 5-6'' of sand and one for every 200 gallons....correct?

 

[little_fish]

yep, which is why almost no one has a tank large enough to keep one

 

[Eissie]

Thanks L_F. Should i try to return him or find him a better home, or do you think his fate is sealed?

 

[Sir Alex]

Well i put the shrim under him seceral times and it never seemed interested. I sure hope he pulls through. :<

Hmm, that's not good. When I put my cc sea star on a piece of shrimp he immediately latches on to it. And my brittle star always grabs it right away.

 

[little_fish]

that is because your cc star and brittle are both omnivores, the linka is something else entirely. If I was to guess, i suspect they are eating film algae and bacteria colonies.

I would see if you can find him a better home, but i wouldnt return him to the store. I would see if you can find some one who has a nice large tank, that has been up for several years. But then there is no guarantee that he will survive in either person's tank. That is the hard part about these guys. We just dont know much about what it takes for them to do well.

 

[Eissie]

Happen to know anyone in the Tennessee area?

Thanks again lf. :)

 

[ErinCahir]

You can look for a local reefing forum. That's probably your best bet.