New Live Rock From KP Aquatics

[Joshua2598]

Look out for these...still can’t catch mine.

I’ve had this particularly colorful gorilla crab in there. Still haven’t seen him since day 1. He’s no bigger than the tip of my thumb

 

[TriggerFinger]

Quick little buggers...mine has grown quite a bit too. Was the size of a pea when I first saw it and then bam he’s the size of a nickel. It’s been MIA for a while now, last time I saw it his pincher claws were missing. Not sure what happened...

 

[Joshua2598]

I've bought TBS rock in the past but never KP Aquatics rock (I'll check it out in person in June). I didn't like all the algae that came with the TBS rock and it had far more die off (especially sponges) than I expected. I'd was using it in a 65g shallow reef (4'x2'x14") that was mostly for local stuff I pick up at the beach or snorkeling in the Keys (legally with a license). But I wasn't crazy about it and would never consider it for a tank that was meant to be mostly coral.



My best guesses at what your photos are:

Post #4: eggs? Maybe but I doubt it. Some simple organism that probably won't survive long, more likely. But I really don't know.

Post #9: A better photo would help. My first thought was a feather duster as well, there are lots of red and white ones in the Keys. I've never seen a barnacle with colored tentacles/fan sweepers, but it's not impossible. Maybe try for a better photo?

Post #11: Isopod

Post #12: Most likely a sponge, but it could possibly be a tunicate. Again, better photo might help.

Post #13: Bristle worm.

Looks like most of my IDs were spot on. I also found 2 brittle stars in there and i hope they’re the kind that stay small. Also sadly better pictures won’t be possible. The reason they’re all so blurry is because they are all took with an iPhone 8 with a clip on macro lens. And the farther away they are from the glass the less I can get a good focus on them

 

[UM Aquarium Club]

I'd recommend trying to remove the crabs from any system that you'll have fish in. We had a "gorilla crab" from live rock cultured in the Florida area and ended up losing a couple fish before we were able to find the crab and remove it. By the time we were able to get it out we determined that it was a stone crab and the appearance had changed drastically between the early live stage to a few molts later.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Love the crab. Are you sure that's a gorilla crab... I'm not sure it is. The little stars are probably micro stars and the do stay small. But there's nothing wrong with having stars. I have 2 in my 40g cube, a big purple serpent star and a jewel blue brittle star that's not too big yet. You gotta love the color of the central disk!

 

[Joshua2598]

Love the crab. Are you sure that's a gorilla crab... I'm not sure it is. The little stars are probably micro stars and the do stay small. But there's nothing wrong with having stars. I have 2 in my 40g cube, a big purple serpent star and a jewel blue brittle star that's not too big yet. You gotta love the color of the central disk!

That’s one pretty star you got there. And no I’m not 100% sure it’s a gorilla crab it could totally be something else.

 

[Joshua2598]

Mystery time... i noticed something that looks like anemone or coral or something inside the rock. Seems to have a purplish tint to it and it reacts to light. I can only see it from an above view and is deep in a hole in the rock. I’ll try to get a picture of it

 

[Joshua2598]

Really not much help but you can see it right there in the middle

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone! I’ve decided to buy some live rock for my tank. I’ve been able to identify a solid 70% of the things I’ve seen but I still need help with a lot of the stuff. I’ll add more to this thread as I find more stuff but I found something pretty interesting so I decided to make a thread about it and any other things I found. I recorded what I think is a baby anemone or maybe even a wacky hydroid.

Attaching the link just here to the post and I hope that works. Also a picture of it

It is curlique with presence of dart lines and ornamental in its manner. Looks so much like aptasia but is not

 

[Joshua2598]

It is curlique with presence of dart lines and ornamental in its manner. Looks so much like aptasia but is not

Yeah apparently this live rock is “100% aiptasia free” since it’s from the Florida Keys

 

[Joshua2598]

There’s no denying it... multiple VERY loud snaps from the tank. I’ve heard it multiple times before but I always shrugged it off as the rock shifting or a bubble popping. But there’s definitely either a mantis or pistol shrimp i here. And I’m pretty sure and hoping it’s a pistol shrimp

 

[Joshua2598]

Interestingly enough that whole mass right there I circled is a sponge or sea squirt I believe i poked it and it retracted and is very soft. I always thought it was part of the rock.

 

[Joshua2598]

Interestingly enough that whole mass right there I circled is a sponge or sea squirt I believe i poked it and it retracted and is very soft. I always thought it was part of the rock.

It’s fully out again and has 2 large distinct holes so yeah [emoji16]

 

[vetteguy53081]

There’s no denying it... multiple VERY loud snaps from the tank. I’ve heard it multiple times before but I always shrugged it off as the rock shifting or a bubble popping. But there’s definitely either a mantis or pistol shrimp i here. And I’m pretty sure and hoping it’s a pistol shrimp

Loud snaps likely Mantis shrimp.

 

[Joshua2598]

Loud snaps likely Mantis shrimp.

Ooh boy I was really hoping it’d be a pistol shrimp. This tank is small as heck and I went in with tongs earlier and poked in any sizable holes looking for a snap back I got nothing. There are also no holes bigger than a quarter of an inch in the rocks but who knows

 

[BestMomEver]

I ordered KP rock for my Biocube. It’s great rock. Love the biodiversity!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Joshua, the Gulf and the Caribbean around the keys has a lot more pistol shrimp than mantis shrimp. I'd give you 5:1 odds (I think conservatively) it's a pistol shrimp. I collect them from sponges that wash up on the beach along Sanibel Island. They sound like somebody snapping their fingers. We can hear them in the dining room tank while we are in our bedroom!

 

[Joshua2598]

Joshua, the Gulf and the Caribbean around the keys has a lot more pistol shrimp than mantis shrimp. I'd give you 5:1 odds (I think conservatively) it's a pistol shrimp. I collect them from sponges that wash up on the beach along Sanibel Island. They sound like somebody snapping their fingers. We can hear them in the dining room tank while we are in our bedroom!

Yeah that’s what I was thinking !

 

[Ron Reefman]

Here's hoping you are lucky.

We do see mantis shrimp when we go snorkeling the reef flats in the Florida Keys. They are extremely quick and they do LOVE to hide in rocks. I'd love to collect one, but taking live rock is illegal in Florida and that's about the only way I'd get one!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ooh boy I was really hoping it’d be a pistol shrimp. This tank is small as heck and I went in with tongs earlier and poked in any sizable holes looking for a snap back I got nothing. There are also no holes bigger than a quarter of an inch in the rocks but who knows

Theyre generally small as hitch hikers and will run from stick, etc BUT will come out for a piece of shrimp. You will also notice clean up crew Empty shells as they will eat all the snails, shrimp, crabs, etc