new liverock but no critters?

[border324]

i just got liverock about 3 weeks ago and i have since put it in a new tank that i am trying to cycle. since i have got my live rock i have never seen any critters are they just not there or dead?. i have heard people on here say they see mantis shrimp and bristol worms but i see nothing is this normal or did i do something wrong?
thanks for your help
michael
i will take pictures and post them. the tank looks really good better than my last sw tank thats for shure.
i have no lighting except a 4 foot florescent home depot fixture i bought. i hope that good enough till i get power compact.

 

[fishfreek]

Where did you get your rock from? Fiji rock histrocly has less critters in it since its out of the water much longer.

Look at your tank with a flashlight at night a few hours after the lights go off. You should find alot more life that comes out at night.

 

[border324]

i got my live rock from liveaquaria.com and my rock is called fiji liverock. i have looked at night i still dont see nothing is that bad for my tank that there is no life in my rock. or will it come back?
thanks
michael

 

[MT79]

It took about a month or two after cycling until I saw anything on my fiji LR. It's been in the tank now for 6 months and I have lots of pods, various worms (peanut, etc. no bristle worms) a couple oddities, and 2 soft corals that I see starting to regrow. No crabs, shrimp etc.- no pests! The filtration aspect of it has been great. It is definetly LIVE rock

 

[leafyseadragon]

I agree with Micheal. I bought my LR from the LFS (pretty sure it wasn't Fiji), and I didn't see anything on it when I arranged it in the tank.

My advice is to just wait. About 3 months after I set up the tank, I found a colony of tiny feather dusters, they seem to be multiplying in my tank. I have found the shells of pods, but have yet to see one. From reading descriptions in other posts, I think I also saw a bristleworm in there.

 

[border324]

now i need some help here to. i think here sometime here soon i need to buy a clean up crew to get rid of all the dead stuff on my rock right. i see all kinds of debris on my rock that needs to be cleaned up. i am thinking about 24 snails and about 12 hermits. and a crab or 2. on liveaquaria.com they sell pre-made clean up crews. i also though about that what do you think?. will crabs/shrimp do more harm than good.
thanks
michael

 

[WarOrks15]

ya i got my rock fromt he same place as you did. i have had it for about 1 month and 1/2 and now seen much from shrimps and crabs. but has a ton of coraline alage growing on it. and i had a ton of soft and hard corals growing. but ya there clean up crew is vary nice. i got the 30 gal with 1 upgrade for my 36 gal tank. lots of hermit crabs. i would have like more snails now that i think about it. but the numbers they give you are not the real one. i just did a count of hermit crabs and i was to get 20 of one kind. i counted 19 but have pulled out about 6 or 7 dead ones. (have no extra shells and then fight to the death).

 

[cmor1701d]

will crabs/shrimp do more harm than good.

Crabs are predators. Hermit crabs will go after your snails or each other for the shell (new home). I'd go with a selection of snails, a fighting conch, a brittle star and shrimp.

Figure on about 1 critter per gallon:

Here's a list I kept around from a previous post from Logan.
Nassarius Snails : Great detrivores and sand-stirrers. They will hide in the sand until feeding time.
Cerith Snails Will also breed in your tank. Good algae eaters and sand-stirrers.
Banded Trochus : Algae eating machines. Ideal size, won't knock over corals/rock, and can move very fast.
Nerite Snails: They may crawl above the water line of your tank as they often become exposed in the wild during low tide.
Margarita Snail - Margarites pupillus Another snail to add to the algae eating arsenal. Will cruise around on the rock and glass.
Fighting Conchs : Little vacuum cleaners. One per 2 sq. ft. of sand. They'll eat diatoms and, sometimes, cyano.
Cleaner Shrimp - Lysmata amboinensis

Snails need acclimation time to adjust to changes in salinity and temperature. Dr Ron's advice is, "Remove them from the bag. Let them dry out in a cup or bowl for about 15 minutes. Then take them one by one, and place them in the tank at the water line with the aperture next to the wall. The animals will extend, fasten to the wall and move into the water of their own accord. In effect, they will self-acclimate."

 

[border324]

now i seen a shell pack of 12 for them to move in too when they get to big. i was going to get a few of them maybe 24 or 36 just to add to the bottom for looks their pretty too.
as for not getting as many critters as i bought they have a 10 day warranty on all of their fish and corals . i will send them back and they will send me more at no charge.
thanks michael

 

[cmor1701d]

Just because there are empty shells doesn't mean they won't like someone else's more.

I have one sporting a nice Nerite snail shell and others taking up residence in homes they confiscated through a brutal eviction process. I had plenty of empty shells laying around, but they liked their current home better.

Not to worry. I'm told their natural lifespan is only about a year. I just don't replace them .

 

[border324]

it no problem to go buy a few snails or hermits every month to help out . once i get too many shells in there maybe they wont fight and just moved out peacefully lol. i do want to get some real crabs not hermits 1 or 2 they sell them in the pack so i guess its alright to get them but does any one else have a opinion. about keeping them(crabs or lobsters)
thanks
michael