Live rocks in water are awesome

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marcwjj

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First time reefer here, I received 15 lbs of live rocks from KP aquatics this morning , which they shipped in water (upon request) overnight. I was positively impressed by the experience:

+ Packaging was meticulous, there was no leaks, they triple bagged all the rocks , with individual wraps and an additional black waterproof layer in between. There was also an ice pack in there, When I opened the package, there were no odor which was not what I expected and the sponges look good
+ The rocks look amazing , they are various shapes and covered by different colors of algae patches (I don't know what kind, lol)
+ We found many live things on and off the rocks, and it was an exciting treasure hunting experience for both me and the kids :) what I think we found (thanks to some r2r help on id'ing ) a huge brittle star and 3-4 smaller ones, a horse conch, a couple snails, an urchin, 3 little crabs, 2 gorilla crabs, spaghetti worm, eunicid worm and other unknown worms
+ Also some coral and algae that I can't name, and a nice feature duster
+ I was really worried about mantis shrimp after reading some posts, I don't think there's one (not yet)

Had I knew how amazing these rocks are I wish I could order more , instead of ordering a mix of live rocks and dry rocks. But Philipp from KP told me they could only ship 15lb in water with UPS to make sure secure packaging.

Anyhow , would highly recommend.

BTW - I don't really know what to do with the 2 gorilla crabs and eunicid worm , I don't have a sump (it's a fluval flex 32g), nor do I have spare tank, LFS is 40 min drive away, any suggestions other than letting go down the drain?

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Just a thought...

If the Gorillas are not too large, you could use them as 'bait' for any Mantis that might be in there. You could make or buy a small trap to keep the crabs in, but would allow the mantis access and hopefully get stuck inside itself.
 
I think I'm going to try to get a 5 pound rock from KP shipped in water. Is this a small enough amount that it could go directly into the tank? I'm terrified to have to deal with a mantis or gorilla crabs though. :)

The rocks look great.
 
I would make some kind of box to temporarily house the crabs in (Tupperware?) until you head to the lfs. You could also post them on OfferUp fornfree/cheap, or if your desperate send them to me!
Thanks for sharing, I don't really have room for more rock but am very tempted to make a small order just for the hitchhikers
 
Oh yeah, I should observe a few days until the doomed click sound of mantis shrimp comes :)
Just a thought...

If the Gorillas are not too large, you could use them as 'bait' for any Mantis that might be in there. You could make or buy a small trap to keep the crabs in, but would allow the mantis access and hopefully get stuck inside itself.
 
I think I'm going to try to get a 5 pound rock from KP shipped in water. Is this a small enough amount that it could go directly into the tank? I'm terrified to have to deal with a mantis or gorilla crabs though. :)

The rocks look great.
I wouldn’t bet on that :) , you would still get a large rock, they are very porous and you never know what’s inside.... but I take that as a positive thing for bio diversity and serendipity. I’m also starting new tank to cycle with a bare bottom (sand hasn’t arrived) so I was hoping it’s easier to catch some bad guys. In worst case I can “nuke” one rock at a time.
 
Great photos. And it’s nice to know that a customer can still have a good ‘live rock’ experience with vendors these days.
 
I would make some kind of box to temporarily house the crabs in (Tupperware?) until you head to the lfs. You could also post them on OfferUp fornfree/cheap, or if your desperate send them to me!
Thanks for sharing, I don't really have room for more rock but am very tempted to make a small order just for the hitchhikers
Sounds good, I will keep them Until the tank cycles then I will go to LFS for either some CUC or a pair of clown fish. Should I feed / water change if I keep them in a Tupperware ?
 
Sounds good, I will keep them Until the tank cycles then I will go to LFS for either some CUC or a pair of clown fish. Should I feed / water change if I keep them in a Tupperware ?
I would poke very small holes into a ziplock bag and clip it to the side of the tank with a clothespin/binder clip until you decide what to do
 
Sounds good, I will keep them Until the tank cycles then I will go to LFS for either some CUC or a pair of clown fish. Should I feed / water change if I keep them in a Tupperware ?
I would keep the Tupperware in your tank with LOTS of holes in it for water circulation and ya I would feed them. They're crabs so they should eat just about anything
 
the 2 crabs with the worm are bad. if they are fuzzy or have black claws (or one bigger than the other) they are bad. the black shelled snail could be a whelk (also bad).. check online and compare to yours. the one on the paper might be ok
 
the 2 crabs with the worm are bad. if they are fuzzy or have black claws (or one bigger than the other) they are bad. the black shelled snail could be a whelk (also bad).. check online and compare to yours. the one on the paper might be ok
Thanks , I was told by another reefer this could be a horse conch, but I will pay some close attention.
 
Great looking rock, Marc! Any ammonia spike?
 
Very nice rock. Is it just me or is live rock making a comeback? And rightfully so!

i was totally sold by the biodiversity of the live rocks and the serendipity of discovering “hitchhikers”. As a new reefer, I’m probably discounting the risks of bad hitchhikers down the road, so time would tell :)

Was particularly glad to find an option to be able to buy a relatively small amount of live rocks shipped in water, for my small tank.
 

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