My Purple Linkia

[Pufferpunk]

I just can't believe the bright purple & pink tips on this guy!


Anyone know what that hole is on him though?

[PSam]

Sometimes you can get a linckia with parasitic snails that bore into it (thyca crystallina). Not sure if that's what you have from the angle / not being able to see in person, but could be an option, though you'd normally find them boring into the arms (or at least that's the only place I've ever seen them). Can you get a better pic or see anything?

Beautiful star! Great colors.

[Pufferpunk]

Unfortunately, this star spends most of it's time behind the rockwork. This is the 1st time it's been fully out since I got it 2 weeks ago. My orange one's out all the time, front & center, & my blue one I see every other day or so.

If it is a parasite, anything I can do for it? Is it fatal?

[Pufferpunk]

OK, just did a search on that snail. All I saw was a hole--no shell. Do they bore that deeply?

[PSam]

Should be relatively harmless if it is a snail, though I've never seen one near the center (again, if it even is the thyca); they're usually on the underside or arms. I'm wondering what the heck that is. Maybe it's sieve plate?

[craftytony]

Good luck with him, myself and a couple other people bought purples awhile back and i think the one that lasted the longest lasted about 3 weeks.....

[PSam]

Yeah, linckia are tough to keep... did you get him locally, Puffer? They are notoriously bad shippers, usually start to disintegrate after a week or two. Keep a good eye on him and good luck!

[hansnfrans]

It appears to be off-center which would then, most likely be the star's Madreporite (intake-port for the star's water vascular system).

Is this hole open all the time, or does it close up?

[Pufferpunk]

I have kept my orange linkia for about 2 years & blue Linkia for over a year now (purchased at IMAC last year). The purple one is from a long-established tank, locally. If what Hans says is true, I can stop worrying! I'm gonna go look that up right now.

[canar]

I have a purple that has been fine in my 210 for over 2 months now

[hansnfrans]

Jeni - my concern is that if it is in-fact, the madreporite, then I don't believe it should be open like that all the time. I'm not sure if a gaping madreporite is cause for concern though. MikeD is a biology teacher, and perhaps you could get him to chime in here, as he probably has a good amount of experience with echinoderm dissection and anatomy.

[hansnfrans]

BTW: do a search for "madreporite" in google images and see if you can identify the "hole" as being that particular body part on your star.

[PSam]

The area is right, that's where the plate (sieve plate / madreporite) should be. I've just never seen one open like that.

[hansnfrans]

PSam - I agree, all of the pics of madreporites in google images, show it closed. Hope it'll be okay, as it is really a beautiful starfish.

[edwing206]

that is the nicest linkia i have seen. good luck with it.

[Pufferpunk]

Thanks! I wish it stayed out in the open more.

[Racenrich]

Originally posted by Pufferpunk
I just can't believe the bright purple & pink tips on this guy!


Anyone know what that hole is on him though?

WOW JEN...thats perdy!
ALmost as perdy as the flower anemone i have for you...no i haven't forgotten!
RK

[Pufferpunk]

I knew you didn't. You seem like a dependable guy. The only free nights I have are Mondays. All weekends are booked till the end of the month.

[Pufferpunk]

Got the proper ID from Bob Fenner. This is not a linkia at all--Tamaria stria.

[hansnfrans]

So, did Bob comment on the "hole"?

[Pufferpunk]

Surprisingly, he didn't guess it was the madreporite. I was still under the impression when I wrote him yesterday, that it was a deeply burrowed Thyca crystallina. He said they could burrow that deeply but not much to do other than surgery. Best if left alone though. I wrote another letter about the madreporite being open like that (almost positive that's what it is, after scouring countless pics). Waiting for a response. I wish the star would come out, so I can look again.

[AuroraDave]

Have you read this?

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...002/toonen.htm

Near the end:
Another consideration is that these stars are particularly prone to parasitic infections of the small snails (Thyca crystallina), and in some regions as many as 1/4 of the Linckia are infected with these pests . You should check for these snails clinging to or boring into the underside of the arms before you pay for the star. Females of these parasitic snails have a proboscis (elongated mouth) that penetrates the skin of the sea star and sucks the hemolymph (the echinoderm equivalent of blood) almost like a small, shelled mosquito. Unlike a mosquito, however, the adult snail actually burrows into and becomes permanently fused to the sea star, and should never be picked off! Because it is physically attached to the sea star, removing the snail will almost certainly result in more damage than leaving the snail attached. Besides, these parasitic snails turn out to be a relatively minor problem. Other than a slight alteration in some of the skeletal elements around the proboscis, the main effect of these snails on the star appears to be the loss of tube feet under the snail’s shell (which probably has no effect on the health of a star in the aquarium over the long-term).

Although research suggests that these parasitic snails cause little ultimate harm to their hosts , their presence is an additional stress that the stars can do without when being moved to an aquarium, and their presence provides a potential vector for infection. So, if you have your choice of several healthy stars, take one without any parasitic snails first; if you don’t have a choice, it probably won’t matter to the star in the long-run.

[PSam]

So my initial thought may be correct on Thyca? The thing is that IS where the sieve plate is located, more or less. But as a couple of us have said, never seen one open like that. On the other hand, I've never seen Thyca burrow in the top center like that. so... PLEASE keep us posted. I'm very interested to hear what others say.

[Pufferpunk]

I tend to agree w/Psam, that it is not the parasite, only the madreporite. It is in the exact same place on my blue linkia. If the darn thing would only show it's "face" again, I could see if it's still open or not.

[hansnfrans]

Aurora Dave - Thanks for posting that excerpt. It's good to know that these snails aren't too terribly harmful to the starfish. One less thing that I have to be paranoid about in my aquarium