Living things on live rock

[shilo_1]

After staring at my new LR for a few hours last night (lol) I noticed about 20 little stars and a type of snail and I think a little shrimp.

I'm sure that not all the critters will survive the cycle, but do you think that any of the little stars will make it ? :confused: Aren't they said to be super sensitive ?

[Mariner]

Well, if they survived being snatched out of the ocean, shipped halfway around the world and then acclimated to your tank, I'd say they've got a shot a surviving. :D I hope they do! Sounds like you got some cool hitchhikers. Keep watching and see what develops ;)
Mariner

[shilo_1]

lol....kinda scary though...think about it...if even half survive, I'll have (what looks like) 10 fancy serpent sea stars ! oh boy ! lol

[tchatman]

Sweet Shilo....where did you get your LR. I got about 50lbs from GulfView about 5 days ago and im starting to see some coral polyps, orange sponges, some type of orange anemone looking thingies, and some featherdusters. Was hoping for some stars or shrimps but havent seen any so far.

[Lessa]

It amazes me that anything aside from some algae and the bacteria survive on LR.

tchatman - are your featherdusters alive? Iwas hoping I would get some on mine, but no such luck. I'm sure the sponges are not alive, I believe they can't survive out of water at all. But they are probably on all LR.

shilo - based on my experience w/my sickly serpent star, I would guess they won't survive. Mine was doing great until a pH crash. They don't like sudden changes in water quality and that's what cycling is all about. But good luck. I hope at least one of yours survive. They're great at cleaning the gunk off the ground. Might try leaving a bit of meaty food around for them if you tank is clean right now.

[cwbroden]

Just watching new live rock can be very relaxing and fun. You never know what you will see moving around.

[NicoleC]

Count your blessings... I was swishing my new Figi rock to try and get more dead stuff off it and I've mostly got gobs of worms. Quite large ones, too, some in pretty colors like orange, but I'm concerned about so many big worms. Well, we'll see if they survive before I worry too much.

Egad, it smells, though. To think I was happy that it didn't smell right out of the box... Judging from the cleanup tonight, apparently I had a lot of bivalves that didn't survive and they smell the WORST.

[Lessa]

Nicole - I'd recommond a freshwater dip for that LR

[NicoleC]

Dip for how long? If these suckers survived the flight, wouldn't a dip long enough to kill them kill everything else, too?

[shilo_1]

I got my Fiji from a lfs here in St Louis. I forgot to mention the living plant life - lol - there are a few feather dusters, and some brightly colored tiny little coral polyps and some other things that look like horn coral...hopefully at least some of this stuff makes it.

I didn't seem to have any worms that I noticed - luckily, although the one snail thingy was interesting. It looked like a normal snail body, but the shell was almost like only the one half of a clam shell on its back. Very shy, and moved along at a terrific rate ! lol

[tchatman]

How long have you guys been cycling before you start to notice more stuff coming out of your LR?

[drtherc]

No! Don't dip it in fresh water. That will kill everything on the rock, and consequently make it formerly live rock.

[toddpolish]

yeah, why would you do a freshwater dip? Don't do that!!!

[DaveJohnson]

Originally posted by Lessa
Nicole - I'd recommond a freshwater dip for that LR
Don't do that! The benthic bacteria (that process nitrogen) are either FW or SW, and a FW dip will kill all the bacteria we are trying to cultivate!

Cheers,
Dave Johnson

[ChrisB]

tchatman - I see you live in Montgomery, did you have your LR shipped or did you go get it?

I live in North Alabama and I am considering picking mine up. I will go with either GV or TBS. I figure I can pick my rock out and keep it submerged in water in large coolers with an airstone so the die-off will be less. Plus, my wife will love an excuse to take a road-trip to Tampa!

Be interesting to know if anyone else has done this. I am a little gunshy of airline shipping. I had a reef tank in the late eighties and ordered some LR from a man in the Keys. The airline screwed up the exchange in Atlanta and the shipment was delayed about 12 additional hrs. I think I had one crab and some aptasia alive when I got it.
Ended up being a total rip off anyway... the "LR" was actually "Live dirt clods", slowly crumbled to pieces in a few months....

[tchatman]

Hey Chrisb, I got my LR from GV and i had it shipped to the airport in Birmingham. I got premium corraline for the same price as base rock cause thats all he had and it was $180 for 50lbs. I was very pleased with what i recieved.

[ChrisB]

Wow, thats a nice deal.

Do you have any idea what the total time of "shipping" was? From their tanks to yours? I am only looking for a ballpark figure here.

Did they ship in water or wet newspaper?

If I can't gain any advantage other than picking out my own rock I may just have it shipped. I am only an hour from B'ham.

Thanks for the reply.

[NicoleC]

Okay, it sounds like the FW dip is out. What about a high saline dip -- also too toxic?

[Mariner]

I've heard of folks using high saline dips on their liverock, but I think many people "in the know" caution against it. (Bob Fenner, for one, advises against it). Again, the problem is that you'd be just as likely to irreperably harm the good stuff on the LR as the bad, maybe more likely.

FWIW,
Mariner

p.s. Hey Chris! I got 45lbs. of live rock for $150 from Marine Depot back in April. Nice Fiji rock -- shipped right to my door -- yep, FedEx even delivers in Alabama ;)

[shilo_1]

Tchatman....my 125 has only been up since Friday with water and LR was added at that time too. I was re-arragning my LR on Sunday night and noticed all the little creatures. :D

I really hope some of the stars make it !

[tchatman]

chris i got my live rock the day after he shipped he, so i would say it took less that 24 hours.

[spydergst98]

Man - I bought 45lbs of Fiji Uncured LR from Marine Depot 2 1/2 months ago for $145.00 shipped overnight.

I did a High Salinity (1.030) dip for about 5-10 seconds on each piece of rock before adding it to my tank to cycle.

After a month - they all turned white - but now are getting some nice corraline (Purple, Green, and Red) but still no critters.

I see no bristle worms, no pods, no hitch-hikers, nothing.

I was told to be patient and that it might take 1 year before you start seeing critters. I was thinking about buying some cured Fiji LR from my LFS and hope that some critters tag along.

Any Ideas?

[tchatman]

Spyder if you dont see any critters for a year then i would say chances are you aren't going to unless you add them. I started seeing critters after 2 days and almost a week and 1/2 later im still finding new things. The high salinty dip is probably what killed any you had. When I got my rock in I simply switched it around in a bucket of water from my tank to wash off any dead stuff and put it in the tank since i was just setting up my tank any ways.

[spydergst98]

It hasn't been a year - only two months. I was told to wait 1 year and let the LR get established.

I added the Uncured Fiji LR in Late Sept and now it's Nov. No critters??? I do see some sponges starting to grow but that's about it.

Thanks,

[shilo_1]

I also found mine within a day or two...and also more all the time....I added it to my tank from the get-go and I'm also setting everything up...

[Dazz]

I have to say, if you want live rock, order some TBS... holy crap there is so much on it and you dont have to wait at all.

In my first 50 lbs I got :
5 small shrimp (and counting)
6 brittle stars
4 baby fighting conks
1 mantis shrimp (maybe a second! :()
every possible color of sponge and many types (including a tree sponge)
many many many small anenomies (not aptasia)
Corals
6 to 8 oysters
50 or so barnicles (prob more like 100)
10+ small pink rock and gorilla crabs (yes, I am taking them out, they are food for the mantis)

Never had to cure it since it was shipped in water! The same night I put it in, everything was moving around. Just MHO. And I cant wait for my 50lbs of "decorator" rock to come in!

[spydergst98]

Hey Daz,

What LR did you get??

http://www.tbsaltwater.com/price.html#

Decorator Rock $4.00/lb

Corals on Rock $6.00/lb

Boat Run $5.00/lb (Mixture of Decorator and Coral Rock)

Do they have package deals?? I only need about 25lbs of LR but will settle for another 45lbs if push comes to shove - Have to convince my wife that 45lbs is a better deal - hehehehe.

Thanks,