And yet another...(even with rock shipped in February)

LeeSheehan

New member
Well, I've seen some concerns about rock being shipped in the winter,and I'll admit that I shared them. However after planning my tank for a year, I wasn't going to let a little snow stop me. I ordered one large rock (about 50 pounds) from Richard along with a 15 pounder and about 10 pounds of rubble rock (for the fuge) and recieved it two days ago, along with 30 pounds live sand. So far, this is what I have to say:

Don't worry about sand size- I started my tank with 40 pounds caribsea aragonite and added the additional 30 pounds TBS sand and the two together look great- there's not a noticable size difference and the bits of shell with the sand just look like bits of shell on top of sand. I am completely unconcerned that it my get the potato chip effect- there's not enough difference between grain size for me.

Don't worry about hitch hikers-- My rock is covered in sponges- which seemed to have survived the shipping beautifully, and WOW! to go with my big rock, I got HUGE hitch hikers. One of them is a fish I've nicknamed Nessie- a 5-8 inch elusive unidentified swimmer (but most definately a fish). it's got a broad head and bristles on top of the nose- if I put my severums' tankmate- the bristle nosed plecostemus next to Nessie, they'd look like cousins. Nessie has a very wide mouth (makes me think she's not a goby) and moves in an side to side motion. I'm thinking that Nessie's either some sort of sculpin or a toadfish- could possibly be a goby- I only saw it around midnight for about 20 seconds, and caught a glimpse of it before that when I was aquascaping. Nessy's home is under the 50 pounder. I'm afraid she'll outgrow my tank in fairly short order. There are also corals and feather dusters, hermit crabs, snails, and clams. I've seen a few crabs, 3 of them gorillas. I am unconcerned about two of them (dime sized or smaller) but then there's Magilla the Gorilla. Magilla is probably two inches across his carapace, and when I went to pull him out, he went after my tongs. I definately lost that round. There's also at least one mantis shrimp (I can here almost non stop clicking) I figure that it will be, like Magilla and Nessie, a BIG one. Now this is what I've seen since getting my rock in the aquarium around 11:00 pm on Saturday night. I figure there's still a lot left that I haven't seen and I can't wait to add to the list.

So, I am absolutely thrilled that I didn't wait for spring to order and everything looks great so far. Despite travelling from Florida to Albany and back to Baltimore (there was a minor shipping snafu) Things have arrived in pretty good health, though from the looks of my water sample, my cycle might be a little rougher than average. So far my Ammonia is a 5.0, my nitrates are at about 15 ppm and my nitrites are at .5 ppm. I am also happy to announce that I have just seen one of the main reasons I got live rock (though Nessie might change the plans I had for the tank) PODS! So, all said, I have to rate TBS two huge thumbs up! Oh and the packaging rocks- three drum liners and a styrofoam box- very little leakage and only with the 50 pounder.

Life is Good.

Lee
 
Nessie's ID is official

Nessie's ID is official

I have a toadfish. A really big toadfish for a hitch hiker- guess I'm not going to have an invertebrate tank any more!

Life is still good

Lee
 
Habitat and other features of a Toadfish: "Seagrass beds and sandy and rock rubble bottoms located in bays, lagoons, and shallows coastal areas provide habitats for the solitary gulf toadfish. This bottom-dwelling, sluggish fish occurs as deep as 820 feet (250 m). It buries itself in sand or hides among seaweeds, darting out to capture prey. A hardy fish, the gulf toadfish can remain alive for an extended period of time out of water as well as being able to survive in waters containing low levels of dissolved oxygen. As its common name suggests, it is capable of producing audible sounds, using its swim bladder, which are reminiscent of vocals produced by some toads. This is often followed by a whistle sound, similar to that of a boat whistle, that is short and high-pitched."

says it grows to 12"...
 
Hey LeeSheehan, I see you are a local. If you happen to find a stone crab in your shipment, I'd be more than happy to take him off your hands. Call me crazy but they are fast growing, vicious creatures and kind of fun to have around--in the sump of course!

If you're not a member of WAMAS already, you may want to check it out. We have a very active community with lots of meetings, socials, frag swaps, etc.
 
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