Reading about bad hitchhikers...it's scary!!! HELP! LR recommendations

[MarineGirl411]

Hi Everyone,
I've been reading about all the bad hitchhikers on RC. Oh man. There are so many of them. I really wouldn't be able to tell a whelk from a different species of snails. There are so many different types of whelks! It just blew my mind looking at all the different shells. Mantis Shrimp, well I'd know what to do if I got one of those babies, but man, scary stuff. I have a question, where have you all gotten good luck with getting your LR at? I was going to go with the Tonga Eva Live Rock from LiveStockUsa.org, but now I am a little afraid. It's coming straight from the ocean to my door step. Or maybe the Ultra Fiji Premium LR. I am afraid that I am going to bed getting some of these nasty hitchhikers. I am also afraid I am not going to be able to identify them. What would you guys do? Just need some suggestions. I know Dr. Fosters and Smith sells Ultra Premium cured as well, but I've heard that the rock comes pretty dead looking and wasn't worth the price. Please let me know what you all think I should do. This will be for my 40 gallon breeder and my refugium.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

You've got a PM.

 

[cyenna]

hmmm. well, i know this won't be very helpful but "take the good with the bad" and once you discover the "bad",research to get rid of it or adapt. There's really no guarantee to avoid bad hitchikers unless you inspect every peice yourself (at an LFS or something) or your LR has been observed in an established tank to have no bad hitchikers (local reefer?). Good luck!

 

[DarkXerox]

Well the rock that I have in my nano was pretty bare when I got it, with just some coralline here and there.

However it got seeded by some rocks that I took out of my 55g and sand I got from 2 other tanks. So now it has mini brittles, bristleworms, stomatella snails, spaghetti worms, pods, and all the other great hitchhikers.

I'd say go get rock from the LFS if you can find some really nice branching shapes. I just like getting rock local because you can see before you buy it. Plus you can just get say 1/2 the rock you want at first, then add nice pieces that you see come in later. And you don't pay shipping (just make sure they aren't charging too much).

As for hitchhikers, check this link out for great info: http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/pages/main_pages/faq_rock1.htm

There's a few pages of all the common things out there.

 

[MarineGirl411]

have you guys checked out Livestockusa.org? I really like the rocks they sell. Local Live Rock is really bad up here. There is no life and it looks like base rock. They still want 5.50 a pound. I spotted some Aiptasia and Red bugs on their live rock. Theirs just looks like crap. lol sorry . Check out that website and let me know what you all think about that. Or any reputable people you know of. I'd appreciate it.

 

[dystopian]

You can always cycle your rock for a longer period to get rid of most harmful hitchhikers. Personally speaking, I've always preferred getting bare live rock over others, primarily due to the fact that all I'd like in my live rock are the beneficial bacterial colonies. That way, when starting a new tank, I know I won't get any surprise inhabitants (99% of the time) and it gives me more control of the tank overall. Coralline will eventually grow regardless so it won't look so bare after a while, and if you have a refugium, most of your beneficial hitchhikers(mini stars, snails, worms, etc) are going to come from there anyways.

The main downside to just getting bare live rock is that you don't get the surprise and wonder of finding new inhabitants (non-detrimental) everytime you view the tank.

You should definitely check out the buy and sell forums for members selling live rock from their established tanks. If shipping a larger quantity is too expensive, you can always reduce the amount of live rock you're getting and get dry base rock from a LFS to make up the other half.

 

[MarineGirl411]

I could try that yes. At our LFS I've spotted some bad things in their tanks. They don't take care of it either. I've spotted red bugs and a lot of aptasia. I'll see what others have tried if anyone else could tell me where they get their live rock from???

 

[Drewpdog]

i ordered live rock from liveaquaria.com only bad hitchhiker i have gotten was well see at my computer i turn my head 90 degrees and there is my 12g nano and one night i looked over and in the moon lights i saw a worm about 1/3 of an inch in length and then wamo my chromis ate it so not realy lol but if you want the live rock but no risk of hitch hikers bake the LR in the oven rinse it realy well and wamo you have LR that has no algee no nothing on it it will be harder to get coraline to grow but no risk of adding something to your little eco system that you never wanted

 

[MarineGirl411]

lol ok

 

[MarineGirl411]

I think I am going to go with Live Stock Usa.org. Their Fiji Premium looks great. They said they have never had any problems with bad hitch hikers. Should I trust them? Whelks........... ugh! Blah! They say people only find dead bristleworms at the bottom of the boxes and sea fans start growing after a while of being in the tank. So that sounds good as long as they are not bad bristles! Bleh. I will examine my rock really well. Hey, would you guys cure it in your aquarium? That is what I am planning on doing. I can get rid of a lot of waste and will be able to see bad critters. Thank you all. =)

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Good luck with it.....don't forget the ceramic drill bit method I told you about ! ! !