Linkia Starfish

I really like the orange or blue linkia starfish and was wanting a bit for information on them.
what do they eat? are they hardy? how big do they get? will they fit in a 55 gallon? are they reef safe?
im sure I could find this on the internet but I would also liek to hear about yalls personal experiance with them.
thanks

 

I dont know anything about them really except my LFS told me they dont have a very good survival rate. So I dont have one.

 

In all honesty Linkia's are better off left in the ocean. They are definitely not hardy and rarely survive in captivity, and we really don't know what they eat. I assume they are eating bits of micro-fauna and stuff but that is just a guess. I'm not really sure how big they get. I'm sorry to bring bad news to you, but I would just steer clear of them

 

LINCKIA SEA STARS

 

From what I've heard they mostly eat film algae, so dont get one if your tank is new. Also the red's seem to have a better survival rate than the blues. I have seen pics of them eating flake food and even an asterina star, but have never seen my red linkia doing anything like this. I have had mine for 2 months now so I cant really comment on long term captivity, but so far it has been a really enjoyable invert to have in my reef.

~Will.

 

I have one orange linckia. I've had it 2 years now, but it's on the smaller side. It just climbs all over, rocks, walls, etc. Very attractive and salt-water looking.

 

another thing youd need to do is keep your calcium and dkh very stable. they dont like swings in it.

 

The big problem with linkias is that they need reverse osmosis and refuse not to have it....

 

Saltwater Aquarium Starfish for Marine Reef Aquariums: Linckia Sea Star, Blue

 

That was truly written by someone wanting to sell linckias as they definitely won't eat as they state:
"Small pieces of clam meat or tablets can be placed under the Blue Linckia Sea Star starfish to supplement its diet."
Instead, they feed on slime off of hard surfaces.
Many die from improper acclimation either before or after the hobbyist makes the purchase, or, they starve in the tanks because of insufficient food.
If it does eat meat, then it is not a true linckia, just a lookalike.
See Dr. Rob Toonen's article I linked above.