Tampabay Live Rock

paragrouper · Jul 29, 2023

Ordovician_Reef said:
They sell a 8 lbs premiun 'Treasure Box' shipped UPS which I got to first check out the rock...I then used air freight for the larger order. The UPS shipment was in GREAT shape with very little die off. High quality rock too.

I’m about to buy that same box

Snoopdog · Jul 29, 2023

Ordovician_Reef said:
I do, all polychaetes are desirable in my experence. Until proven otherwise, they are valuable detritivores and sand stirers. Truth is, I do not know how you would actually rid yourself of them if you are using good live rock.

I agree, that is what I thought.

Grassy_Nole · Jul 29, 2023

Ive used them for years and always had great luck. Picked up local once and the owner is solid guy

Ordovician_Reef · Jul 30, 2023

diverjm said:
I’m guessing there is a decorator camouflaged in there?

Yep, one with substrata and one with sponges and algae.

CallMeChris · Jul 30, 2023

I loved the live rock and sand I got from @LiverockRocks Tampa Bay Saltwater! Lots of cool hitchhikers, a few undesirable ones as well. They go hand to hand. Would recommend TBS highly, with the caveat that the reef keeper must be willing to handle the entire scope of life that comes with the rocks. Would also suggest placing it all in an observation tank for awhile to give you a chance to trap/capture any unwanted hitchhikers, knowing full well you might not get all of them.

Not for pristine/sterile mindsets

My 10G tank with 20lbs of TBS live rock and 10lbs of live sand. Going on 8 weeks, getting ready for my new 90G tank in a couple weeks.

Ordovician_Reef · Jul 30, 2023

CallMeChris said:
I loved the live rock and sand I got from @LiverockRocks Tampa Bay Saltwater! Lots of cool hitchhikers, a few undesirable ones as well. They go hand to hand. Would recommend TBS highly, with the caveat that the reef keeper must be willing to handle the entire scope of life that comes with the rocks. Would also suggest placing it all in an observation tank for awhile to give you a chance to trap/capture any unwanted hitchhikers, knowing full well you might not get all of them.

Not for pristine/sterile mindsets

My 10G tank with 20lbs of TBS live rock and 10lbs of live sand. Going on 8 weeks, getting ready for my new 90G tank in a couple weeks.

I really loved the macro algae....

Snoopdog · Jul 30, 2023

Ordovician_Reef said:
I really loved the macro algae....

Mine is growing out quite well.

Mhamilton0911 · Jul 30, 2023

CallMeChris said:
I loved the live rock and sand I got from @LiverockRocks Tampa Bay Saltwater! Lots of cool hitchhikers, a few undesirable ones as well. They go hand to hand. Would recommend TBS highly, with the caveat that the reef keeper must be willing to handle the entire scope of life that comes with the rocks. Would also suggest placing it all in an observation tank for awhile to give you a chance to trap/capture any unwanted hitchhikers, knowing full well you might not get all of them.

Not for pristine/sterile mindsets

My 10G tank with 20lbs of TBS live rock and 10lbs of live sand. Going on 8 weeks, getting ready for my new 90G tank in a couple weeks.

Was that base rock or premium?
I ordered 20lbs of base rock, picking it up tomorrow.

CallMeChris · Jul 30, 2023

Mhamilton0911 said:
Was that base rock or premium?
I ordered 20lbs of base rock, picking it up tomorrow.

10lbs of base first, then 10lbs of premium

ILikeFish! · Oct 5, 2023

Ordovician_Reef said:
What is a bad crab ? I got bristle worms (which I wanted) but no fireworms, at least that I have found so far.

Any crab that isn’t a emerald crab or hermit crab is a bad crab. and even they can be bad sometimes.

diverjm · Oct 7, 2023

ILikeFish! said:
Any crab that isn’t an emerald crab or hermit crab is a bad crab. and even they can be bad sometimes.

I’d have to respectfully disagree. My TBS came with 6 porcelain crabs and a decorator crab that are all living in harmony together as well behaved citizens. I have a mixed reef setup and haven’t had any issues with said crabs bothering coral or hurting anything whatsoever. I will say gorilla crabs are only good for sump dwelling as they are aggressive and will kill other inhabitants.

Ordovician_Reef · Oct 8, 2023

diverjm said:
I’d have to respectfully disagree. My TBS came with 6 porcelain crabs and a decorator crab that are all living in harmony together as well behaved citizens. I have a mixed reef setup and haven’t had any issues with said crabs bothering coral or hurting anything whatsoever. I will say gorilla crabs are only good for sump dwelling as they are aggressive and will kill other inhabitants.

I have 5 or 6 in my sump now and about the same number who did not survive the capture process (forceps). I am getting pretty good at it.

Tired · Nov 2, 2023

I have a tiny little decorator that came in on my Tampa Bay rock. It should max out at about a nickel in carapace size, and its small claws mean it isn't a threat to much of anything. I've kept this species before- the worst they'll do is trim a bit of frill off a long-frilled zoa, once, before learning that it's not good to decorate with. Or snip off and wear a couple of 3mm-wide micro zoas. They lack the size, claws, general oomph, and attitude to bother anything.

Porcelains are definitely safe, but are also not true crabs. They're filter-feeders with weak claws mainly used for gesturing at predators.

Heck, I have quite a large spine-backed hairy crab (one of the gorilla crabs) in an experimental tank with some live rock, and so far it hasn't eaten the stony corals or various micro creatures in with it. I mean, it'll eat snails and hermits, but it might be technically /reef/ safe.