i currently have an orange linckia going on 8 months in my 180G, and just added a small maroon dalmation linckia yesterday as a matter of fact. I made two prior attempts with blue linckia that unfortunately didn't fare well past a couple of weeks. i understand the blue ones are particularly sensitive.
from my experience, make sure the specimen has
zero skin abrasions. i drip acclimate over a 2-hour minimum span. i constantly hear “do not expose it to air when transferring” but mine will occasionally hang out at the water line and “feel” the surface with its tube feet like other starfish will do (i think it’s skimming the surface for organics?).
i run a somewhat dirty tank by the way (no skimmer, no refugium). i also have various ornamental sponges, and i feed the tank foods like marine snow, oyster- feast, phyto-feast, etc. about 3 times a week. i will confess to somewhat high nitrates in the 30-40 ppm range. ;Shamefullyembarrased
mine tends to hide a lot (and i hardly have any fish in my tank at the moment). make sure you don’t have fish that will potentially harass it (like toby puffers).
also be aware that linckia can host parasitic snails so watch the specimen closely (if it's a LFS buy) before purchase, and also during acclimation.
good luck with it if you take the plunge!
