Yes liverock has living things on them....dead rocks are dry and nothing is alive on them. You can turn dead rock live by seeding it with other live rock. I did that in my tank. I used about 30-40lbs of LR and then the rest is base rock(dead rock) but after about 3-4 months most of the rock has turned into LR. They have lost thier white coloring and turn darker. But the you get more with the LR....on one piece of LR i have there are 20-30 small clear anemonies with white tips or something on it (not Aptasia tho). Also i have one piece with feather dusters or fan worms on it. I have a big piece of LR with about 5 peanut worms in it. I got 2 snails on i dont know which rocks but the appear every once in a while and then dissappear. Plus the LR gives a more natural look and feel for the fish and they have something to graze on. If i had the money at the time i would have bought all LR but i didnt so i used some base rock.