Live Rock.com order with pics! Base, keys and gulf

[zuzecawi]

Finally got the much awaited for shipment! These guys are awesome, Mike was wonderful, Liverocks.com has the best customer service, and I am so escatically happy with the order I got. Right from the start, the order was well packaged, styrofoam box inside carboard box and lots of water and paper towels with extra paper towels over the corals on the rocks, plenty of hitch hikers, looked all benign. Green crabs, no black pointy pincers, no red crabs, lots of cute blue footed snails, a couple small pistol shrimp survived, about four didn't, 4 brittle stars that I saw, some limpets, and what looks like a small abalone. I had to rinse the towels wrapping the live rock off to get the stars out of them. The base rock alone had more life than any Fiji I've seen at the LFS, and the Keys is out of the world. I'm afraid I was shaking too much to take really great pictures, but here are some. I'll post the rest to my gallery.

 

[zuzecawi]

Dang, my pics didn't come through... how do I figure this thing out?

 

[Phyl]

They need to be under 100k to be posted in a post. 250 for your gallery.

Now hurry! I want to see them before I head to bed!

 

[zuzecawi]

Thanks!

 

[Phyl]

Nice color on the rock. What is the thing on top of the Gotta Be Keys3 rock? I love the reddish color of whatever that is (I have some of that too). The coral I also have (Cladocora caespitosa) and it looks kinda cool when it opens up. I have 3 or 4 colonies roaming my tank right now. Thanks for sharing yoru pictures.

 

[zuzecawi]

Is this a humungous aipstasia? I never saw one this big if it is, I've noticed a few of the small ones (I forsee a peppermint shrimp or three...) but what is this?

 

[quarryshark]

I got a few of them, they are potentially pests, but not as bad as glass aptasia.
You can zap them if you want, but mine have never caused any problems, nor have they been of benefit.

 

[zuzecawi]

Well, there are several bright red sponges that are actively opening and closing, and a bright yellow one. I'm not sure which one you're lookin at... there were also tons of featherdusters,three of those bigger anemones, more stuff everytime I look.

 

[quarryshark]

I was looking at the anemone. Let things settle in, you will be amazed at what shows up.

 

[zuzecawi]

Whhops, not you Quarry shark! I was talkin bout Phyl's question as to what was on the liverock. Heh. Well, I think those little purple anemones are kinda cute so I'll leave them if they don't take over.

 

[quarryshark]

 

[zuzecawi]

well its off to bed for me, I may sneak back out tonight to see the after hours show though.

 

[zuzecawi]

Well it's been not even a week and already I'm finding all sorts of crazy things in this live rock. I have a really big red shrimp that lives in a cave, and it plugs the mouth with a small chunk of liverock when it's sleeping. It has eyes that are independant and stick straight out the front, and no really big claws or anything, but it's hard to get a good look at. Then there are a bunch of little baby sea urchins, purple spiny ones. And the little corals are really coming out. Looks like there's a baby brain coral on the underside of one rock. Then there are the little crabs, snails, and shrimps. Everything seems pretty benign, no clicking sounds at night. I may have seen a small fish one night, I'm not sure. I'm fairly sure I did see a nudibranch, which might have been masquerading as a fish in the dark. The coraline algae is just unbelievable. There's a HUGE differnce between the Keys and Gulf, but the Gulf is no less beautiful for the lack of the florid oranges and fuschias of the Keys. The Gulf has more corals. I think my next shipment from these guys will be 30lbs Keys and 10lbs "coral rock" Here's another pic, I'll post more as the tank matures.