Anyone Keeping X-Mas Rocks Anymore

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That is very cool. Those look like the rocks I remember.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
I actually saw four at an LFS today... Cheapest one being $270, and the expensive one was $490. :eek:

Maybe one of these days I'll splurge on one. lol
 
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ca1ore said:
When I first started in the hobby years ago, X-Mas worm rocks were quite commonly available at LFS (not online back then). They gradually fell out of favor, mostly because success rates were so poor. Fast forward to the present and you almost never see them available. It's too bad because as husbandry of SPS corals has improved, keeping X-Mas rocks is actually quite easy now …. and they look spectacular. You have to have a tank that will grow SPS in order that the host porities (sometimes cyphastrea) survives; and you have to avoid fish that will pick at the feathery worm heads. If you have surviving populations of tube worms there's likely enough food for the X-Mas worms. It has never been clear to me the extent to which the porities coral and the worms exist in a mutualistic relationship. Some say that if the coral dies, the worms die; other say not. My own experience is that if the porites coral thrives, so do the worms. Correlation certainly; causation, maybe.

Anyhow, when I see X-Mas rocks for sale I will buy them if the coral is still living. I keep them in my frag tank where the few fish will leave the worms alone. No special feeding. The two that I have are both over two years old and both the coral and worms are still alive. The coral has grown quite a lot. The colorful tree worms have not multiplied, but more traditional fan worms have taken up residence and been encrusted in by the porities coral.

If others are keeping these animals I'd love to see some pictures. Here are my two …...

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My wholesale vendor had some , not cheap anymore.
 
Ive had two for about a year now. One is the size of a softball and doing great, the other smaller one i accidently killed the porites but the worms are still doing fine. There's also hermits mixed in, I like em. I also have a montipora with one growing in the center of it and had a Christmas tree feather duster pop up randomly on some rock. These are all the Pacific version, I think what people used to get in the before times were from the caribbean but that stopped with their live rock.
 
Tidal Gardens
Yeah, not cheap at all. About a year ago my LFS did have one with about 50 red worms - $500. And I actually thought long and hard before declining.
 
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Salty Lemon said:
Well they are now down to 7! I owe you @JDnKY !
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Glad to be able to help. I’ve been thinking about getting one myself but after the JF livesale, it will be a little while before I drop that kind of $. Please post some pics when you get yours. I didn’t realize the rocks were covered with Porites or Cyphastrea, I thought the covering on the rock was Bisma, they are referred to as “Bisma rocks”. Lol Anyone know why they are called Bisma Rocks if it’s not the covering? The one I had back in the 80’s had a bright neon green covering. I still have the skeleton/rock but it’s long since been bleached and sitting on a shelf.
 
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JDnKY said:
Glad to be able to help. I’ve been thinking about getting one myself but after the JF livesale, it will be a little while before I drop that kind of $. Please post some pics when you get yours. I didn’t realize the rocks were covered with Porites or Cyphastrea, I thought the covering on the rock was Bisma, they are referred to as “Bisma rocks”. Lol Anyone know why they are called Bisma Rocks if it’s not the covering? The one I had back in the 80’s had a bright neon green covering. I still have the skeleton/rock but it’s long since been bleached and sitting on a shelf.
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I bought a large one -- including shipping, it cost $117. I'm guessing I'm getting more of a frag than a full rock. But it is a start and I just want to have one. :-)
 
Tidal Gardens
I've seen them regularly around here from $60 at swaps up to $150 at LFS depending on sizes. I'd love to have another some day, but learned my lesson because I love wrasses also. So, it would have to be a wrasse free tank.
 
danschoenherr said:
I've seen them regularly around here from $60 at swaps up to $150 at LFS depending on sizes. I'd love to have another some day, but learned my lesson because I love wrasses also. So, it would have to be a wrasse free tank.
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Angels can also be a bad idea
 
Salty Lemon said:
I bought a large one -- including shipping, it cost $117. I'm guessing I'm getting more of a frag than a full rock. But it is a start and I just want to have one. :)
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I’m really interested to see what you get. The ones on eBay are a lot more expensive.
 
Tidal Gardens
JDnKY said:
I’m really interested to see what you get. The ones on eBay are a lot more expensive.
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I sat there, filled with angst over whether or not to get one from eBay. They are gorgeous. I decided to see what I would get from the website you mentioned and if it looks good -- great! If it doesn't look so good -- I'll have to explain to my husband that we might not be able to eat for the next week or two because I'll need to order one from eBay.;)
 
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IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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