Orange Linkia disintegrating

[rick snow]

My starfish looks like it's slowly disintegrating. It has lost part of two arms. It seems kind of shriveled up. It appears to be okay otherwise, moving around, up on the rocks and on the bottom

[WV Reefer]

9 minutes ago, rick snow said:

My starfish looks like it's slowly disintegrating. It has lost part of two arms. It seems kind of shriveled up. It appears to be okay otherwise, moving around, up on the rocks and on the bottom

That’s how they die.......by slowly falling apart 🙁

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, rick snow said:

My starfish looks like it's slowly disintegrating. It has lost part of two arms. It seems kind of shriveled up. It appears to be okay otherwise, moving around, up on the rocks and on the bottom

They are difficult to keep long term... Seem to do best in very large tanks that are a few hundred gallons due to needing stability and large amounts of rock to forage on.

[Thrassian Atoll]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

They are difficult to keep long term... Seem to do best in very large tanks that are a few hundred gallons due to needing stability and large amounts of rock to forage on.

What’s their lifespan?  Like 6 months in captivity?

[Tamberav]

4 hours ago, Thrassian Atoll said:

What’s their lifespan?  Like 6 months in captivity?

6 months to a year or two in captivity (smaller tanks). Likley have potentially long lifespans in the wild. Some stars can live 10-30 years so I doubt they only have a natural life span of a year or two.

 

I would try one if I had a few hundred gallons if established rock. They are very cool.

 

 

[Tamberav]

@Thrassian Atoll

 

I pulled this from Bob Fenners book The Conscientious Marine Aquariast about linkia:

 

Thought often offered in the trade, the few species in the genus Linckia should be avoided. Because of cumulative damage in collection, starvation for the duration of transit, and poor adaptability to captive conditions period, species in this genus almost always perish within days to weeks of aquasition. The few specimens that do persist are invariably placed in huge, well-established systems with little competition for food. I urge all to leave these species in the sea.

[Thrassian Atoll]

24 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

@Thrassian Atoll

 

I pulled this from Bob Fenners book The Conscientious Marine Aquariast about linkia:

 

Thought often offered in the trade, the few species in the genus Linckia should be avoided. Because of cumulative damage in collection, starvation for the duration of transit, and poor adaptability to captive conditions period, species in this genus almost always perish within days to weeks of aquasition. The few specimens that do persist are invariably placed in huge, well-established systems with little competition for food. I urge all to leave these species in the sea.

I tried a blue one last year and it died within 24 hours.  Awesome looking but like  Bob said, it’s not worth the trouble.  Kind of crazy they are widely available.  Retailers shouldn’t carry them.