How rare is this starfish?

[sean rand]

I dont think he would take the starfish back. I have gotten crazy deals by him that's why I thought he was telling me the truth. I have not a bellus angel for $30 ,YT $25 , regal angel $45 and a a PB tang for $25.

Agreed even if it was worth 500 or whatever, from what I read they melt away somewhere between a few months and a year.

This is likely the reason you don't see starfish in everyones reef tank.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

You should probably return it then. I've kept a blue Linckia for a little over 3 years but that was in a very mature tank with a lot of biofilm for him to feed on. They are hard to keep but definitely shouldn't be tried in a tank that's not mature.

Munching on an asterina

How old was the tank when you added it? Just curious as one day maybe I'll try it. Not anytime soon but maybe years later after I get a much bigger tank lol.

 

[sean rand]

How old was the tank when you added it? Just curious as one day maybe I'll try it. Not anytime soon but maybe years later after I get a much bigger tank lol.

I dont know if it was the rite thing but my starfish was the 1st living think I added to the tank. Probably stupid but hes still alive and thriving

 

[User1]

I check online I dont see them for sale on any website

Just means they are out of stock. LA, DD, Blue Zoo and others carry them. Linckia's are not rare and usually flagged as advanced care for hobbyist. You see blue, purple, and orange/red in our hobby. There is a good article found in advanced aquarist. If you haven't read it I would highly recommend it if you want any long tern success.

ORA does not raise those - at least not on their web portal. You can check this on your own by visiting their portal. My personal take is that the LFS you visited and purchased this from lied to you.

 

[saltyhog]

They die because we can't supply their nutritional needs, especially in a new tank. Their metabolism is slow so it takes a few months often. Just because it looks ok so far doesn't mean it will survive long term. What species of starfish do you have?

 

[User1]

I see on blue zoo they want $40 for the size I got. I paid 50

Are you looking for justification for your purchase? If so - don't worry about it. If you are happy that is all that matters. I'd be more concerned at the moment of how you plan to care for it. Some people have great luck with them, others not so much.

 

[sean rand]

They die because we can't supply their nutritional needs, especially in a new tank. Their metabolism is slow so it takes a few months often. Just because it looks ok so far doesn't mean it will survive long term. What species of starfish do you have?

 

[sean rand]

Good news just called my LFS store where I got them from and he said he will take it back. Lesson learned .thanks guys

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I personally don't care about region or rarity at the moment. I buy what I think looks nice. I don't really care if I overpaid buy a few bucks or what not either. My happiness doesn't come from saving money. I know some people's does, just stating what I like lol.

The point is, LFS that lie to customers. Not good business.

 

[samnaz]

The point is, LFS that lie to customers. Not good business.

They lied about where it came from, lied about how “rare” it is, and they overcharged. I wouldn’t trust a word they say after that. Not a bad idea to do your own research real quick before making a purchase from them again. Good on them for taking it back, though...

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

They lied about where it came from, lied about how “rare” it is, and they overcharged. I wouldn’t trust a word they say after that. Not a bad idea to do your own research real quick before making a purchase from them again. Good on them for taking it back, though...

Some corals not much info, but the more you buy, from different vendors, you get an idea of the region. Some corals look almost the same and their's non-photosynthetic and photosynthetic . Bummer

 

[ThunderGoose]

THIS is justification for a smart phone right here. I can whip out my phone in the store and look for information on that fish, invertebrate, coral or garden plant (yes, I garden obsessively, too). I learned my lesson when I bought an 18" "black lace" Sambucus perennial, drove home, checked the interwebs and found that these are shrubs. Right now it's over 12 feet tall. And gorgeous. But not what I thought it would be.

 

[Dr RBG]

Don't forget that if you buy it online you will have to add $40 for shipping.

 

[AcroCrush]

Excuse my LFS uses is that they don't ship well as to why they never have starfish. My guess is that nobody buys them before they die in the store if their coral are any similar indication of the LFS talents at saltwater husbandry.

 

[Ling_Thing]

Impulse buying for a reef tank is not good my friend must do research before putting anything in

 

[Mikedawg]

A good habit is to look up any fish, coral, etc. you are considering buying on your smartphone while at the LFS; kinda like getting the Carfax before you talk to the salesman

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Impulse buying for a reef tank is not good my friend must do research before putting anything in

Yeah ahmmm what @Ling_Thing Just said...

Whatever you do just DON'T read my build thread! JKJK everything on the list as far as fish was cleared on one of the stocking forums on here. May be a good idea to try that for anything added?

Just an idea. I once brought home 2 Red Was Slider turtles in this little shoe box sized death trap. I quickly learned they needed much bigger tanks. Everytime I'm about to get any pets, I think of how that one little bitty quarter sized turtle quickly needs a 120+ gallon tank or pond. We ended up giving the turtles to our LFS when we moved but I do one day hope to do a stock tank build.

 

[McPuff]

My tank is a couple of months old. I already have a couple of starfish in the tank that r doing very well

This is not a mature tank yet. Good that you are able to return it. I've always read and been told they don't acclimate easily and almost always shrivel up and die eventually. It's the exact reason why I haven't even bothered to try one. I go with cucumbers instead. :0)

 

[jd371]

Because these type of Starfish rarely do well in captivity they should just be left in the ocean.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Hard to tell from the underside, but if that second picture is of one of these, it's not reef safe and will eat corals, clams, etc...

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/562/?pcatid=562