What Is This On My Live Rock?
- Thread starter ohiorn67
- Start date
ctgretzky9
Member
I have a couple of these embedded ino my LR as well. All of mine are just shells now, but it looks like a scallop or similar. Its funny, because over time, as he LR gets cleaned, or a chunk breaks off, it exposes shells of clams, scallops, mussels etc...Hard to tell in your pic-is it alive or just a shell?
ohiorn67
Member
Hi, I think it is just a shell, what I have noticed over the last couple of days are small shreds of the shell seems to have softened and are floating in the waves of movement, I assume it is dead...it just looks like a shell with ridges, but I thought it was neat so put it right in front so it can be seen....it never did that sloughing thing before, so not sure why it is doing it now.
ctgretzky9
Member
Unless im doing something really wrong, my LR seems to "shed" bits and peices here and there, and I assume everyone elses does too. Nothing major, but a small half inch piece or so falls off it every couple weeks or so, and it is usually where there is something embedded under that chunk. I just figure it is inherent in the LR, since really it is made up of layers formed over time in the natural reef, and really, unless aquacultured, Im pretty sure all LR is from chunks of reef that broke off anyway.
ctgretzky9
Member
How old is your LR? AmI the only one who experiences some small chunks occasionally to fall of the rocks? I have 2 yr old fiji rock.
ohiorn67
Member
I am not sure about the age of my rock, but my tank is new a month old and at the end of the cycle just this week....fiji and some other I can't remember, was nice rock, has lost some of its color a bit but they tell me it will return, no real creatures but a few worms we have seen and a couple of things growing that look like zoos. that is all, what about you? My rock is not falling apart though, it is pretty tough stuff.
ctgretzky9
Member
THe best advice I can give you is to go slooooowww. Do NOT rush anything into the tank. Get a cleanup crew first, then add anythign else real slow. Did i mention go slow? I made that mistake when I first got my tank a couple years ago...put way too much in way too early and lost almost everything.
The color will come back to the rock in time. And this is the key...time. It takes a few months at least to start getting stable water parameters enough to get the really cool things like starfish, for the rock to start getting its coraline built up, for your bio filter to be established and cycling well.
Read allyou can on the boards, there is a lot of good advice out there from some very intelligent and informed hobbyists. If you're not sure of something, ask. No matter how much I think I know, I'm always learning something new, or a habit I had was really not working as well as I thought.
Good luck!
The color will come back to the rock in time. And this is the key...time. It takes a few months at least to start getting stable water parameters enough to get the really cool things like starfish, for the rock to start getting its coraline built up, for your bio filter to be established and cycling well.
Read allyou can on the boards, there is a lot of good advice out there from some very intelligent and informed hobbyists. If you're not sure of something, ask. No matter how much I think I know, I'm always learning something new, or a habit I had was really not working as well as I thought.
Good luck!
ohiorn67
Member
yes, thank you for the good advice. We are going very slow. Cycle is just about over and will only get cleanup crew and watch water parameters for a week...then might try and add like 2 corals...wait a week...see how all are going again and then add a set of clown fish.....wait a week,etc..taking our time! I am not sure which package to get for a cleanup crew yet, any advice would be great.
ctgretzky9
Member
For a cleanup crew, I like to think about it as an ecosystem, and what exactly needs to be cleaned. I like the crew I have, it works well for my tank: 12 smal turbos, 3 larger snails (cant think of their name off hand), 3 emerald crabs (great for cleaning all the "holes" of live rock and crevices-these guys do wonders!), a coral banded shrimp, 5 scarlet hermits (small enough to get into crevices again) and I have 3 large hermit crabs. Works well for my tank, but others may have different crews. For the hermits, remeber to get plenty of shells for them to grow into!
I have crushed coral, so if you have a sand bed, Ithink you may need a couple of things I don't need because of my substrate.
Ask around for that specific need.
I have crushed coral, so if you have a sand bed, Ithink you may need a couple of things I don't need because of my substrate.
Ask around for that specific need.