Live....wood?

[NDreefer1]

So I just got the second half of the package and I was quite impressed by everything.

The live rock was insane, several baseball sized corals, one that looked like a hollow tube, and what I thought was a staghorn coral skeleton.

Looking at it closer, it is obvious that it is not coral. It is a piece of coraline covered, barnacle encrusted, driftwood. Its firmly attached to the larger piece of rock it came on.
Is this bad? Could anything leach out of it after being underwater so long?
...cause it looks really cool and I want to keep it if I can.


..As a side note I did recieve the madatory mantis, though the little guy (.5") was packed with the cukes, which made it fairly easy to catch.

...As a second side note how important is it that I find and catch the little octapus I saw earlier?

This rock is incredible.

 

[hdtran]

If you don't catch your little octopus, he's going to munch one of your crabs every few days and clean you out.

That said, the bottle trap (especially if baited with something, and if you use a dark bottle) is probably a good way to catch the octopus. He wants to be in a cranny or nook, and will set up residence in a cave (or bottle).

The driftwood should be fine in your tank. It's been in the ocean for several years now.

Congratulations!

 

[docklink]

Agree with Hy. Think about it; the driftwood already has coraline and barnacles growing on it and had whatever else that grew long enough to attach it to the rock. Good luck with the octopus.

 

[white_queen]

Octopus!? Very cool! I'm now literally drooling over this rock. Would love to take the mantis off your hands for you too by the way, unless you are planning on keeping it.

Blessings, Angela <><

 

[NDreefer1]

Thanks for the input on the wood - the shape is really cool and I've got some neon oragne zoos at a LFS in mind for it, hopefully they will attach to the wood.

white_queen: I think Im gonna keep this mantis but there are at least 2 more in there , one of which is quite large by the loudness of the clicks so you're more then welcome to those if you want them.

 

[M.Dandaneau]

Keep in mind that "clicks" are made by things besides mantis shrimp.
Pistol shrimp also commonly come in as hitch-hikers.
Like many of the mantis shrimp, they too utilize the swimmerets to dig burrows, particularly in sand or fine grade aragonite.
While many consider these "reef safe" some species are very active predators that can kill another shrimp or small fish with one "pop" of that enlarged claw, while others are much more amenable and some are even waiting for the addition of a small "prawn goby" with which to form a partnership.

Mike