TankBud

Blue linckia star

Linckia laevigata

Also known as Blue Starfish, Blue Sea Star, Blue Star, Linckia Starfish

SaltwaterInvertebrate

Blue linckia star (Linckia laevigata)
dr.scott.mills · CC BY-SA 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
11.8 in
30 cm
Minimum tank
53 gal
200 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Very common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Ophidiasteridae
Origin
tropical Indo-Pacific coral reefs, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia, north to southern Japan

Overview

The blue linckia star is a biofilm-grazing reef sea star, and a poor match for most home aquariums. It is for experienced keepers with a big, long-established reef, not a first reef tank.

Did you know

The blue linckia star's close relative, Linckia multifora, can regrow an entire new sea star from a single detached arm. The stage is called the comet, since the tiny new body trailing its long original arm looks like a comet with a tail. Linckia laevigata shares the same regenerative powers, but it has not been confirmed to reproduce this way in the wild.

Caring for the blue linckia star

Keep the blue linckia star only in the largest, oldest, most rock-packed reef tank you can offer, at least 53 gal (200 L). Its rock surfaces should have sat undisturbed long enough to build up the biofilm it grazes, and that takes years, not months. It is peaceful and reef safe, since it never touches coral. Keep only one per tank.

Acclimate it over at least two hours of slow drip and never let it touch air, since stress can kill it. Hold the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4, and keep it stable. Starvation, cramped quarters or unstable water leave it prone to a bacterial melting that turns patches of an arm white and mushy. Once the melting starts, it is usually fatal.

It feeds almost entirely on biofilm grazed straight off live rock. Nobody has worked out a reliable way to feed it in captivity. A large share of the blue linckias sold in the trade slowly starve over six to twelve months, even in decent tanks. Expect to lose thin-looking individuals even with good care.

Good to know

The blue linckia star is named laevigata, meaning smooth, for its evenly rounded, cylindrical arms. It is best known for its saturated blue color, which comes from a large carotenoid-protein pigment called linckiacyanin in the body wall. Each arm tip carries a cluster of light-sensing eyespots. Like other members of the family Ophidiasteridae, it can slowly regrow a damaged or lost arm. In the wild it has one dedicated parasite, a small snail called Thyca crystallina. The snail attaches permanently to the underside of an arm and feeds on the star's fluids, leaving a visible scar where it sits.

In the wild

The blue linckia star is common on shallow reef flats, rubble zones and seagrass beds across the tropical Indo-Pacific. It ranges from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia, and north to southern Japan. It usually lives in water less than 20 m deep. It creeps slowly over rock and coral rubble, grazing the thin biofilm and covering roughly 8 cm a minute.

Common questions

What size tank does a blue linckia star need?

A blue linckia star needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a blue linckia star need?

A blue linckia star is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a blue linckia star eat?

A blue linckia star grazes biofilm straight off live rock, and that is almost all it eats. Nobody has worked out a reliable way to feed it in captivity.

How big does a blue linckia star get?

An adult blue linckia star reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).

Related species