Real Star Power

Protoreaster lincki is one of the most beautiful starfish commonly seen in home aquariums. Their stunning orange/red tipped arms and tubercles (little pointy bits that look like the spikes that really hardcore Raiders fans wear) are connected by a web-work of the same color, over a light grey or soft crème colored background. Some specimens are more deeply red, some are more orange, and the webbing also changes somewhat in its patterns and thickness. All of them are beautiful and this is the primary reason they are so often harvested for curios; often dried and sold for art, tourist memorabilia and crafts.

There are a few different common names for this star; most often it is called the African Red Tip / Knob Sea Star, but it is also frequently identified as Red Spine Star, Red General Star, African Sea Star and Red Spine Star. Like all the sea stars that have “lincki” in their name, Protoreaster lincki was so named for Johann Heinrich Linck, (1674-1734) German Pharmacist, Naturalist and Expert in his era on Sea Stars.

They only come from the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea where they live mostly at fairly shallow depths. They've been found as deep as 100 feet down but are so common in shallower water that they are rarely, if ever, collected from water that deep. They are most often found and collected off the coast of Africa, though populations do also exist off India and Australia. They are usually found in fairly open water, on or adjacent to large expanses of sand or mud. In areas where they do well, they are often found in tidal pools.

Their ability to thrive in the shallow waters and pools of Africa's coast lends them the ability to do very well in aquariums; they can tolerate a wide variety of conditions and even temperatures. We suggest keeping them in the normal tropical range of 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but they can be kept in displays that are a few degrees colder and even a couple degrees warmer. In regard to the other water quality parameters, they do best in reef salinity and specific gravity should be stable between 1.025 and 1.027. Nitrates should be kept as low as possible, under 10 being ideal. While tolerant of a range of temperatures, they are sensitive to rapid shifts in any parameter, and so should be acclimated slowly, and the aquarists focus should be on stability. Like all Sea Stars, they are extremely intolerant of copper, so be mindful of this if you choose to medicate the aquarium for something as many medications include copper.

When planning a display for African Red Tips, well, let's be honest, very few people actually plan their display specifically for Sea Stars, and this is a bit of a shame. Many of them would do better and live longer, even in smaller tanks if the display was designed with them in mind. Since this is rarely the case, one should think about which star they choose while picking the other tank mates and finding common ground there. These stars like open space. They will go on the rockwork you have but aren't adapted to foraging over rocks and don't generally use it for cover. Unless you are keeping them in a species-specific aquarium you should have a display that is at least 55 gallons, with an emphasis on footprint; in north America, the standard 55-gallon tank is 48” long, a standard 75 gallon is the same length and usually the same height, but is usually six more inches deep, and as such, would be even better for our new friend. They don't need a substrate, but will do best with at least a shallow one, of whatever grade you prefer. Rock work should maximize the amount of open bottom space. If kept in a display planned expressly for them, and stocked lightly, they could be kept in smaller confines.

This open floor plan will help them find food more easily, and they are very good at sensing when food is available and getting to it. Feeding is where most people's husbandry for African Red Tip Stars is off target. These fish will consume some algal film, but the majority of their diet is meat based. Gamma Frozen Foods offer a variety of appropriate foods for them, like Cockle, Prawn, Krill, and Silversides, and they'll need a good meal a couple / few times a week. Larger meaty foods will have to be chopped down to an edible size for them. If you are keeping this star with other fish, you should target feed your star to help make sure they don't get robbed by fish or shrimp.

Picking tank mates for any Sea Star is an important aspect of their husbandry, and this one is no different. You'll need to avoid fish that are looking to take nibbles out of the Star, so things like puffers and most triggers are out. We would also caution against keeping them with fish that sleep or hide in the sand bed like Halichoeres genus wrasses. This fish is a meat eater, and there are multiple reports out there of them injuring or eating small, unaware fish. Of utmost importance with keeping African Red Tips is that they are not reef safe. They will damage and sometimes consume sponges, some anemones, corals and even small urchins! This is a star best suited for a Fish Only, or Fish Only w/ Live Rock displays.

There aren't too many invertebrates available to marine aquarium enthusiasts with the star power (see what we did there) of the African Red Tip Sea Star. They are gorgeous and pretty easy to keep if you have an appropriate tank. For those of you with just such a display, there isn't another star that is going to wow people like this one will. If you're this aquarist, head to your Local Fish Store and ask for a Protoreaster lincki from Quality Marine today!