Live Rock Q's (newbie)

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Gatorfreak

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
617
Location
Gainesville, FL
Been reading quite a bit on here and went to the LFS. I've got some newbie questions about live rock. I read the recent post about someone getting live rocks from liverocks.com and it came with various small critters. Let's say I get some live rock and put it in my new tank. What kind of things, if any, should I expect to grow on the rock? I know it will come with various types of algae and bacteria but if I give it time, are larger things going to grow from it. Like all the cool stuff I see in the gallery pics? Or do I have to purchase all of those separately (expensive)?

On to the critters.... I gather that some of the critters that come with the rock will be good to have in my tank and some bad?

Quick summary about me and my plans: Long time FW aquarium enthusiast. Never had a SW tank but plan to now with the 90 gallon tank I'm getting (being given to me). I really like the looks of reef tanks. Yeah, I know doing fish only is advised for beginners. To save money, I expect to get a mix of base and live rock but I'm really curious about what all is going to come from the live rock with nothing added but TLC.

Thanks!
 
if you purchase rocks from Liverocks.com you will get alot of life. from a LFS you may or may not get life...by the way... WELCOME TO AQUARIUM ADVICE!!! :mrgreen:

anyways, my LFS has "live rock" which is accually dead. they sell it for 9 bucks a pound and it is no good. So don't waste your money. Get the good stuff.

My Live rocks from liverocks.com came with:

Crabs (considered bad by most people because of their potential to destroy things and possibly eat fish.)
pistol shrimps ( very good)
Feather dusters ( a fun and very pretty flower looking worm. considered good.)
spagetti worms ( harmless and very interesting to watch. good.)
snail (good)

there are more organisms I haven't discovered yet. but they are there! like:

Mantis Shrimp ( considered very bad. dangerous to fish. must remove.)
Brittle starfish ( considered good)
aneomes ( most are good but apaistia is considered a pest.)
and much, much more!

One guy even found a small goby in his rock! a great find!

so in conclusion. do some research, decide what works best for you. and never rush into a decsion. this stuff takes time.

check out this thread to see my rock: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=30964
 
are larger things going to grow from it. Like all the cool stuff I see in the gallery pics? Or do I have to purchase all of those separately (expensive)?

I believe you are talking about corals. Those for the most part are sold spretly unless you buy rock with them already on it. The coral rock liverocks.com has, has many types of small corals on it which will and can be proven by the display tank, mature into big gulf corals. I have to disagree about the mantis shrimp being bad, the ones that come in our rock are not like the ones from imported. They are scared half to death of the fish. mike feeds his by hand and handles them when they drop out of rocks.
 
are larger things going to grow from it. Like all the cool stuff I see in the gallery pics? Or do I have to purchase all of those separately (expensive)?

I believe you are talking about corals. Those for the most part are sold spretly unless you buy rock with them already on it. The coral rock liverocks.com has, has many types of small corals on it which will and can be proven by the display tank, mature into big gulf corals. I have to disagree about the mantis shrimp being bad, the ones that come in our rock are not like the ones from imported. They are scared half to death of the fish. mike feeds his by hand and handles them when they drop out of rocks.
 
Let's say I get some live rock and put it in my new tank. What kind of things, if any, should I expect to grow on the rock?

That will depend on certain water parameters that you have in your tank. Coraline Algae for instance, is very colorful but to get it to grow heavily on your rocks will require a bit of work on your, not too much.

Never had a SW tank but plan to now with the 90 gallon tank I'm getting (being given to me).

90 gallon is a pretty good size to start with....luck you

but I'm really curious about what all is going to come from the live rock with nothing added but TLC.

A beautiful tank...Good luck

On to the critters.... I gather that some of the critters that come with the rock will be good to have in my tank and some bad?

You should expect...well the unexpected. You will get some small feather dusters and other little creatures on the rocks. You will also get a lot stuff that will die off the rocks if you get them mail order. Most of them will be of no harm to your tank. Probably the worst thing would be a Mantis Shrimp, but you will find debate on these forums as to whether they are all that bad in the first place.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far!

I guess I should be more specific about "stuff" growing on the rock. What I mean is, will things like Anemones, Toad Stools, and Polyps grow off of just getting a live rock? Or do I need to get "coral live rock" and then those sorts of things will grow off it?
 
Half the fun of ordering live rock is that you will never ever know what exactly you will be getting. I got sea squirts, sponges, beautiful coralline growth, some snails, loads of small and a couple larger feather dusters plus loads of other stuff. After a couple months I noticed two brittle stars too! Basically look at the types (liverocks.com gets good press on this website, i bought mine from a store I work at) and order some, you will spend hours and hours looking at it as new stuff pops up all over place. That is the beauty of lr, everytime you look at your tank, there is a good chance of dicovering something new! HTH :D
 
I am the guy who got a Goby. hes doing great.

My LR.com rocks were packed with:

A Goby !
Tons of feather dusters
Snails
Crabs (a few are Porclien)
Bristle Worms
Fire Worm
Unknown Yellow Worm
Sponges
Clams or oysters ?)
Mantis Shrimp (caught in the bag)
Pistol Shrimp or a Mantis (I think its a pistol)
Brittle starfish (red and a few grey ones)
Spagetti worms

and thats what I've seen so far.
 
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