Chrispy's 2nd Shipment

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Aloha kakou,

Received the second half of 'The Package' on Saturday. Not much to say except, wow. Let me repeat that. WOW!!! WOW!.

First the administrivia. These folks are the absolute best to deal with. I had requested a Friday delivery. Richard wrote back saying that they had not been able to dive, and although they had some rock in the store, but I'd be happier if I waited for them to dive. On Thursday, they said they might be able to dive and on Friday I received a voice mail from Mary saying she could have the rock to me on Saturday. WhooHoo!!

Shipping was a breeze. Unlike the first package there was virtually no leakage. Got the boxes home and the kids and I tore into them. Beautiful rocks covered with sponge, coraline, mullosks, hardcorals, serpent stars, and 1 hairy crab that we still need to catch. And great shapes - long tables, little arches, pyramids. Aquascaping has been a blast (pictures to follow in the near future). I'm not sure where this stereotype of aquacultured rocks being concrete balls came from, but put it to rest!

The third box was the critters. Bags of blue-legged hermits, snails, a couple of tiger tailed cucumbers, a couple of peppermint shrimp (which I had requested in lieu of pistols - thanks Richard!), a medium serpent star, and a surprise - a condy anemone!!! We acclimated everyone while we aquascaped. The hermits ran about the tank eating algae and fighting with each other. The snails also started their cleaning tasks. The star found a shady spot under one of the rocks and waited for night to fall. One of the cucumbers curled up into a ball, and hasn't moved too much. The other started crawling all over the place. The shrimp climbed underneath the rocks and haven't been seen since. The anemone, rejected the nice, well-lit, ledge I had prepared and climbed down into a cave. It seems happy there - tentacles extended and color coming back.

Two days later, the shrimp are still hiding and the one cuke is still curled up, ammonia is around 0.1 and nitrite 2 (salifert tests). New things are showing up all the time. Yesterday a fist-sized chunk of one of the rocks, decided to climb higher up in the tank. Turns out it was some kind of mullosk who was not happy with how prominently he was being displayed. As we watched under the nightlights a ridge of sand moved from one of the rocks towards the front of the tank. Don't know what it was - we half expected a Frank Herbert Sandworm to emerge.

This has been such an amazing experience. Many thanks again to TBS!!!

 

[we_want_Nemo]

I have to say, posts like your make me so anxious for my order. To bad, I'm still trying to save enough money to get the order I want.
X-mas seems soooooooo far away!!

 

[kaiyokanman28]

Keep an eye out, though, for mantis, Chrispy. I know that I now have at least two, if not three or more in my rock. They're cool little buggers, but the ones I have are just too big for my show tank. They're Gonodylactus types and just plain NEAT...but I just don't see those blue-legged hermits and turbos reproducing fast enough to keep them happy...so, they have to come out.

I personally don't feel this is a bad thing to have them come with the rock, but they DID come with the rock and it's only fair to say so. They are BIG buggers too...the two I've seen are two to three inches a piece. I'M ON SAFARI!

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

 

[liverock]

Thanks!

Thanks!

Chris
Thanks so much for the feedback, we really appreciate it!

We were able to dive Friday, even with the left over hurricane weather, Mark harvested a nice load of rock.

I was in the keys collecting critters for a shipment to Paris tomorrow.

Of course the wind blew like crazy while I was there, but managed to collect the critters we needed.

Stay on top of any ammonia spikes, if you get any, usually there is minimal spikes on the second half of The Package shipment.
Let me know how it goes..

Thanks
Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface:

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Keep an eye out, though, for mantis, Chrispy. I know that I now have at least two, if not three or more in my rock. They're cool little buggers, but the ones I have are just too big for my show tank. They're Gonodylactus types and just plain NEAT...but I just don't see those blue-legged hermits and turbos reproducing fast enough to keep them happy...so, they have to come out.

I personally don't feel this is a bad thing to have them come with the rock, but they DID come with the rock and it's only fair to say so. They are BIG buggers too...the two I've seen are two to three inches a piece. I'M ON SAFARI!

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

We had a couple of mantis in the first shipment who got plucked before the rock even went into the tank. Since then I do here a click now and then, usually at night, and usually just a single click at a time. I'm hoping it may be a pistol shrimp, but I'm waiting until I actually see something.

On the plus side, the peppermints have re-emerged. They seem to have found each other and like to stay together. They come out under the night lights and do their elegant dance on the rocks.

 

[liverock]

Cool Pep"s

Cool Pep"s

Pep"s are so cool, the both produce eggs almost continuously, excellant food for your tank. You can almost raise them, but are tough to feed the small guys.......there was a prof at the university of AZ that raises them to adults!
Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface:

 

[Trek Rider]

I'm planning on placing an order next week. How did you find the mantis before putting the rock in the tank? My first and only other shipment of live was completely cured form another source and I didn't have this mantis problem. I would prefer to keep the mantis out of the rock's final tank. Any hints are welcomed. Thanks.

 

[kaiyokanman28]

Follow the instructions that come with the rock and set the rock out on the tarp for about 20 minutes to give the hitch-hikers a chance to get out of the rock. That's how I got one mantis out. BUT...it's not a sure-fire way. The usual method is to do a hypo or hyper salinity dip...BUT...Do NOT, Do NOT, DO NOT do a hyposalinity/hypersalinity/freshwater dip with your TBS rock. It'll kill off the good stuff you want on that rock.

Pretty much, if you get mantis shrimp, you're going to have to find other methods of getting them out. I'm currently trying to trap them live and give to those who want them.

Cheers!

Andy :wildone:

 

[liverock]

Mantis trap

Mantis trap

OK
Take a 2 liter plastic coke bottle, cut the top off about 2 inches from the neck, invert it and stick back into the bottle, put a piece of fresh shrimp in it...leave in tank overnight...in the morning you will have mantis/crabs!

Thanks
Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface:

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

I'm planning on placing an order next week. How did you find the mantis before putting the rock in the tank? My first and only other shipment of live was completely cured form another source and I didn't have this mantis problem. I would prefer to keep the mantis out of the rock's final tank. Any hints are welcomed. Thanks.

I had purchased a large, squat, rubbermaid container. 40 gallons, about 3-4' long and 1 1/2' deep. With wheels on one end.

I unloaded the boxes in the garage right into the container and then wheeled it into the living room. This allowed some of the critters to crawl out for inspection. More importantly, for me, it allowed me to get an idea of the shapes and sizes of all the rocks. I've got a 55g, which is rather narrow, and hence rather tough to aquascape. By laying out the rocks ahead of time I could pick the right rock for the right spot in the tank.

It also kept wet boxes out of my girlfriend's living room, which was very important!

I've been searching night and day for any mantis and I've not seen any sign of them. I do hear a click every now and then, but it's always coming from an area of the tank where there's a snail or hermit climbing around, so I think it may be the sound of their shells hitting the side of the tank.

Fed the condy a small piece of scallop last night. It took it off the wooden skewer I was using, and just hugged it to itself. My gf and I were reminded of the seagulls in Finding Nemo - "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

 

[boyooso]

Chirspy,

I am unsure if I still have a Mantis.. I did fight with mine a bit and am unsure if I killed him. I tried to get him out alive, but he just wouldn't budge. I had the rock out for some time, and tried to help him out with a chop stick. I think I may have helped him decide to stay put.....

I do hear a fair amount of clicks and CRACKs... I know I have two Pistol Shrimp. If I get under the tank with flash light, I can see the home he built and see him too.

Try looking under the tank and see if you see a pistol? Maybe that is the cracking....

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Chirspy,

I am unsure if I still have a Mantis.. I did fight with mine a bit and am unsure if I killed him. I tried to get him out alive, but he just wouldn't budge. I had the rock out for some time, and tried to help him out with a chop stick. I think I may have helped him decide to stay put.....

Last night my gf saw something that she though might be a shrimp, as she was pointing it out the LR it was on opened up and then snapped shut on it, cutting it in half. :eek1: I didn't realize that mussels (or whatever kine mullosk) were predatory!

I do hear a fair amount of clicks and CRACKs... I know I have two Pistol Shrimp. If I get under the tank with flash light, I can see the home he built and see him too.

Try looking under the tank and see if you see a pistol? Maybe that is the cracking....

If I look under the tank I see 3/4" plywood, 1/4" foam padding, and 5" of live sand.

 

[dizzyfun]

Crispy-
put on your x-ray glasses we all wish we had in high school....what do you see now?
sounds like the sand is a little too ALIVE!!

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Photos added

Photos added

Aloha kakou,

Finally got around to taking a picture or two. They've been added to my gallery.

Since my last message I've found and removed two good size hairy crabs (about 1" across the body). All the critters are doing quite well, especially the condy and peppermint shrimp. Lost a really nice looking acropora.

Currently battling various algae, including red slime, diatoms, and lots of hair. Hope to add the first fish within the next month or so.

 

[liverock]

Light strip?

Light strip?

What is the light strip for under your stand?


Richard TBS

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Re: Light strip?

Re: Light strip?

What is the light strip for under your stand?


Richard TBS

So that I can see while I'm working in the sump. We don't get that much sunlight up here in the Pacific Northwest. :sad1: I decided to use a rope light just because it was cheap and gave pretty broad coverage across a 4' area.

 

[liverock]

Neat!

Neat!

Thought so...I use those under the gunnels of my boat for night diving/fishing, puts out lots of light!
Richard TBS:rollface: