Live Rock, Alive?

[nano_nut]

I purchased a 3.3lb piece of fiji liverock from a local LFS. It was stored in a tank with no light and seemingly good water circulation. Anyways when I picked it out the seller simply wraped it into two plastic bags and sold it to me at $5/lb. He didnt add any additional water or wrap it in paper with added water as I had seen done before. It took me about 6 hours to get it home and into the tank. My question is, rather or not the rock is still "alive"? Any chance that there could still be liveing feather dusters,slugs,pods, ect? Its been about 30+ hours since placeing the rock into the tank and I have yet to see anything liveing.

 

[keith burn]

No pods,slugs,dusters will not live out of water.
And yes it is still alive.

(jmo)

 

[whitey_028]

Live rock nowadays imo is really not that alive to begin with. Theyare all shipped in a cardboad box in a plastic bag with NO WATER!! they are usually damp with newspaper the only thing you are really getting from them are some macroalgeas that can live on te damp rock.Other than that there is no life unless a hitchhiker happened to find a moist enough place in the box to stay alive...we are paying 4.99 to 7.99 a lb for algae.

 

[zman1]

You will be surprised what survives. I bought Walt's ( which is the bulk) and a few pieces from different LFS not in H2O (buckets) in 02 when I converted my 75 gal to reef. Walt's rock came in his wax boxes with wet newspaper. You know it spent at least a couple days in it while in transit to the retailer and then me. I had a bunch of hitchhikers survived, some I wish didn't. The good ones - Pod, snails, duster, sponges, and a bunch of other small filter feeder made it. Give it time....

 

[nano_nut]

well its been nearly 48 hours and still no signs of life. When I purchased 8lbs of fiji a couple of years ago, they wrapped the pieces of newspaper and put into large plastic bags and dumped a few speciment conatainer fulls of water and I was on my way. Got the rock into the tank in about 2 hours then and i remember there bein all kinds of life. I hope and hope i have a few survivors that will propogate. There is another closer LFS near by with beautiful pieces of fiji for $7/lb and I think I may replace some of my baserock with a bit of it in hopes of getting all kinds of critters that scurry about.

 

[zman1]

I wish you the best of luck. As you already know from previous purchases most of the crawling critters come out at night when you can't see them.

 

[sepulatian]

I got some "live" base rock a few weeks ago (base that had been in with lr for awhile) It was packed bone dry in styrofoam, and stayed that way for a few hours while I did some things. I put it into my qt just to be sure there was no die off. (Rock was supposed to be fully cured) After a few hours the little duster that was on it was open. I also have alot of red coraline algae on it. It has been in my display for 1 1/2 weeks and is doing great, there is also a little " tree" looking thing on there. Anyway, Just wanted you to know that all survived!

 

[viper_930]

It was almost 2 months before I saw a pod and bristleworm in my tank.

 

[nano_nut]

Wow 2 months? Hope after all!! I hope it doesn't take that long, but ya'll have given be hope! Thanks Guys!

 

[nano_nut]

well, last night around 4am i got home from the emergency room and my g/f turned the light on in the tank just to look. Well when she did I saw a little tiny grey/blue bug looking thing scurry across a piece of rock. Maybe more things will follow!