Moving Live Rock Around

Rypped · Sep 25, 2021

Hi guys,
I've had my first tank for about 6-8 weeks now. It's a Biocube 16. LFS didn't really give much guidance on setup....and as a result, I have positioned my live rock too close to the walls to allow proper substrate cleaning, etc. I'm nervous about moving the rock too much for fear I'll accidentally pinch one of my critters. I was considering siphoning a portion of the water into a bucket and very temporarily placing my two fish (dottyback and a purple firefish) along with my fire shrimp in there while I move the nudge the rock around. Is that overkill and unnecessarily induced stress as opposed to just moving the rock very very slowly? I only have to nudge both pieces an inch or so with probably a slight rotation. Thanks for your help!

i cant think · Sep 25, 2021

Rypped said:
Hi guys,
I've had my first tank for about 6-8 weeks now. It's a Biocube 16. LFS didn't really give much guidance on setup....and as a result, I have positioned my live rock too close to the walls to allow proper substrate cleaning, etc. I'm nervous about moving the rock too much for fear I'll accidentally pinch one of my critters. I was considering siphoning a portion of the water into a bucket and very temporarily placing my two fish (dottyback and a purple firefish) along with my fire shrimp in there while I move the nudge the rock around. Is that overkill and unnecessarily induced stress as opposed to just moving the rock very very slowly? I only have to nudge both pieces an inch or so with probably a slight rotation. Thanks for your help!

Honestly I’d say stay safe and move the fish & shrimp. I’ve moved the rock around with fish in the tank and regretted it, I had the fear one would jump or get crushed.

Critteraholic · Sep 25, 2021

+1 @i can't think Stay safe and move them. I've had fish jump out of the tank just doing water changes. And one time I had a fish (FW) dive right under my siphon just as I pushed it into the gravel. It didn't end well.

If you can't catch them without major chasing (stress for them), use one hand to move the rock and the other to shoo the fish away from you. And don't set the rock down until you can see everyone.

Just be gentle and calm, no fast movements.

Good Luck!

Rypped · Sep 25, 2021

Thanks all.... really appreciate the guidance.

Billdogg · Sep 25, 2021

And I'm on the other end of this discussion. Unless you are really good at catching fish, the stress you induce chasing them around will be far more than that from moving some rocks around.