Crazy LFS?

marynik007

marynik007

Member
I was at the LFS the other day because I was thinking of buying live rock for my FO tank. Since I had never bought live rock before I was talking to the guy there and he told me that I should not buy Live rock! Now am I crazy or is he crazy? :rolleyes: He said the reasoning being that if I have fish that may eat things off of the live rock that the rock will have "things" living on it that will release toxins into my tank and kill all my fish off. His sugestion is that no FO tank or tank with any aggresive fish should have live rock in it. Now I'm confused. :confused: Just about every set up I have seen or heard of with the exception of a few they have always had some kind of live rock in the tank. Before anyone says "he probably said that because you can't add alot of live rock to a tank with fish in it or the die off will kill the fish..." I told him that I had a seperate tank that I was going to cure the rock in and slowly add it to my main tank. But the question still remains. Can live rock be a bad thing in your tank?:confused:
Tom:p
 
donkeykong

donkeykong

Member
If the LR has a manits shrimp or maybe some unwanted algea on it. But nothing that would devistate your tank. We have all had horrible advice from many LFS. LR will increase your filtration and add to the look of the tank. I would not understand why he (some one who is going to profit) would tell you not to get LR.
Most of us has plenty of rock in our tanks.
Sometimes LFS confuse Me:rolleyes:
 
dgbnyc

dgbnyc

Member
Sometimes LR can carry parasites and things that are not wanted in a FO tank. It has been heard of that healthy fish are infected after LR is introduced. In addition if there is need for medicine to treat some situation in the FO tank LR could be a difficulty. Most meds will damage the good things that live on LR (why you have it to begin with) and thus the complication with meds in a tank that has LR. If you want a reef tank then LR is more essential.
Having said all this I think I'd have LR in my FO tank if I could afford too because it has a nice appearance and will aid in water quality after it cycles.
 
marynik007

marynik007

Member
I was told you should not put LR in with rays because the have a very soft skin and it could easily get cut on the LR. better just to have a DSB.
Tom:)
 
eelfreakrobi

eelfreakrobi

Member
you can leave the live rock outside of water for a while im sure that will kill a few toxic organisms, and then hose the live rock.
 
koiman6

koiman6

Member
First of all live rock is a great addition to almost any tank. Second of all never listen to the people that work at the LFS, half the time they dont even know what they are talking about. I wouldn't worry about adding live rock to your tank if you do encounter problems post them here and you will usually get acurate answers.
 
donkeykong

donkeykong

Member
Not to jump around but back to the ray thing. Marynik007 was right, rays and sharks have very soft bellies that can be easily damaged by the rocks rough edges. With that said some shark owners still put rock in, if you arange it were the sharks have plenty of room to swim around then there is usaully not a prob .
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Since I had never bought live rock before I was talking to the guy there and he told me that I should not buy Live rock! Now am I crazy or is he crazy?
To answer your question as it was asked ...
He's crazy !
I suppose it's possible to get a bad batch of live rock that contains something toxic - although I've never heard of this.
I'm limited on what I know about marine diseases, parasites and pathogens, but I suppose about anything is possible.
I have heard that some aggressive fish will actually pick at the rock itself, but for the most part, I've seen some pretty awesome FOWLR tanks that are packed full of rock.
I would ask your LFS guy for some specific examples that he's seen or experienced - and ask him to back up what he said to you with more information.
I wouldn't necessarily call him crazy, but I'd for sure want him to explain his reasons in more detail.
 
sweettooth162

sweettooth162

Member
i have always had good times with live rock. it is my main source of biological filtration. i have a little whisper for mechanical. but that is not the point. i forgot my point o well. lr is a good choice it brings interesting things to your tank, and every time i look at it something new pops out. LR in addition to ls is a very good choice. MY lfs guy knows what he is talkin bout, might cost a little more than the "moron" fist store but he has never been wrong. just a little imput.
 
donkeykong

donkeykong

Member
I have heard that some aggressive fish will actually pick at the rock itself...
Trigger fish and some puffers will eat live rock. Actually they crush it in there mouths looking for food inside of the rock. It is very intersing to see, it sounds like a .22 going off usaully scaring all the other fish
 
marynik007

marynik007

Member
Just want to clarify one thing quick the LFS was saying that the rock would release toxins to posin the fish in a defense to protect itself from being picked at by the fish that may graze on it. Thats when I started to think things smelled a little "fishy":rolleyes:
Tom:)
 
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