? about adding LR straight from ocean

[808]

Today i went to one of the more secluded beaches (i live in Hawaii) and swam out about 40-50 yards and dove down for some live rock. I put those in a bucket with some ocean water and drove home. This is my first SW tank, starting out with just a small 20L. When i got home and i put the LR in the tank. Later in the day, when my GF went to the supermarket, she came back with a surprise for me...a small yellow tail damsel that the "lady at the fish store said would be good to start with." (Hey, at least i know she's willing to buy fish hehe." Being that the store already closed, i don't know what to do with it. Do you think this one fish will be okay with the roughly 5-6lbs of LR that i just added in? I don't have anywhere else to keep it, and do not want to go to walmart to buy more stuff for this one fish. I'm guessing since my LR was straight from the ocean to my tank, it's gonna be loaded with life just waiting to die. Are daily water changes all that i can do to keep this little guy alive? Anybody ever put "fresh" LR right in to the tank? I'm curious as to how this LR is gonna blow up the tank.

[jaiden]

Lucky you, living in HI. Test for Ammonia. If there is none, the fish will be fine. It depends on how you handled it, and how long the trip home was.

Grab more LR as soon as you can and I think things will be fine. Mostly on LR you need to watch for sponges, which die very easily with any exposure to air.

I am no expert though.

[808]

What i did was take the bucket out to sea with me, dive down, put it in the bucket, and bring it back to shore. The bucket was filled with water out where i grabbed the rock. (If anybody tries it, it's an absolute ***** to swim back in 50 yards with a bucket full of water and rocks with the waves and trying to avoid hitting the reef) After that, it was about a 20 minute drive home, where i inspected and cleaned it up a little, then in the tank they went. There wasn't really sponges on it, i picked the rocks that were broken off and just sitting in sand patches. It's mostly just really pink with crabs in it...although after putting it in my tank lots of little worm looking things and what not swam out of it.

Oh, and i don't think i can legally take more right now haha. in fact, i think the law is 1lb per day or something, so i've already exceeded my limit. We'll see how it goes.

[lando]

First off, check with local laws in your area. I am pretty sure it is illegal to harvest LR directly from the ocean without a permit. This can also be damaging to the natural reefs, this is why there are laws in place. If everyone decided to harvest their own LR it would be bye-bye reefs.

Oh, and i don't think i can legally take more right now haha. in fact, i think the law is 1lb per day or something, so i've already exceeded my limit. We'll see how it goes.

Worth checking into before you get any more.

...a small yellow tail damsel that the "lady at the fish store said would be good to start with." (Hey, at least i know she's willing to buy fish hehe." Being that the store already closed, i don't know what to do with it. Do you think this one fish will be okay with the roughly 5-6lbs of LR that i just added in?

Has this tank cycled yet? If not, take the fish back and let your tank cycle.