Notably absent from LR...?

[Untamed12]

Now that the initial shock of the new rock is wearing off, I've started to notice what I'm NOT seeing.

I haven't seen a single brittle star in the rocks. I would have expected to see arms hanging out from every hole...nothing. I've seen many sand stars, but no brittle stars.

I haven't seen clams/oysters. I did see one small scallop.

Coraline algae. Small patches, but not very much.

Bristle worms...not a one.

Halimeda. Lots of grape and fern caulerpa...but no Halimeda. None.

I'm not saying that this is all good or bad....just interesting and surprising. I suppose this is a micro-sample of what happens to live in the TBS harvest site.

Richard, does the life on your rocks have seasonality? If the next shipment was to wait until August, would the life on the rock be different?

 

[liverock]

warm...

warm...

We had a real warm winter....lots of plants that usually die....did not....so I would say there is more than usual......halimeda is a Keys plant...not seen here....summer time is more plants.....but this year has been weird....real warm all winter, by 10 degrees in the water this year...al gore is right...

Richard TBS

 

[figuerres]

I think that one item is that a while back tampa and the gulf had a major red tide that killed off a lot of things...

most things seem to be ok but if you look you will see some posts here about a type of "Brain coral" that before the red tide was fairly common; it now seems to have been drasticly wiped out.

coraline: what I have seen is that it does not show up much on TBS rock till it's had some time to adjust to the tank.

worms: seems to be less now, the gulf may need some time to get all the critters back in force.

you might want to check out two places to add some stuff:

http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/index.htm?990
and
http://www.inlandaquatics.com/prod/prod_detrit.html

i am currently looking at some stock from each to add to my 90, may be a week before I am ready to order from them.

HTH