Breaking Live Rock

[A_Poythress]

Hey guys! Brand new to the hobby and have a couple of questions.. I am sorry if these are dumb ones..

I just bought some fire fish that do not seem to have enough hiding spaces in the huge live rock that is sitting in the center of my tank. I want to give them some places to rest for a bit but was a little worried about taking my rock out and just busting it up.

Are there any special ways to bust the live rock? Do I need to use clean/new tools? Or will the Fire Fish be okay without having a lot of hiding places?

I am using a 3 gallon nano (10 gallon being purchased this week and hopefully running by the end of the month)

 

[AlSimmons]

You can go ahead and bust the live rock up with a hammer if you like, but just be aware that the longer it takes you to do this the more die off there will be. Have a plan, get all your tools together and try to get it done as fast as you can. If you don't want to break up the rock you could always add some PVC pipe or perhaps a small clay pot to the tank instead. These might look a little funny at first, but given the right conditions and time they'll eventually be covered in Coralline algae just like the rock.

 

[A_Poythress]

Awesome!
Thanks for the response.

 

[thegrun]

A good cold chisel works well. You can also use a hole saw to cut openings through the rock.

 

[ali1]

Drop it over your driveway...

 

[mcgyvr]

I second a nice wide (3-4" or more) cold chisel (more control over where it breaks).. but a hammer alone works ok too..

 

[Ron Reefman]

As long as the LR is wet, the bacteria will survive. It can be out of the water for quite a while as long as it's kept wet and not out baking in the sun. I use a big wide brick chisel and a hammer out on my driveway.

 

[sde1500]

5lb hammer

Also, "some" fire fish obviously insinuates more than 1, which is pushing it for a 3 gallon tank. Get that 10 gallon up as fast as you can.