What Wild-Aquacultured Live Rock Did You Use & What Pests Did You Experience?

[naterealbig]

I am planning out my next US-ULM SPS reef, and as part of this will be utilizing a bare bottom display and sump. To ensure a healthy biome from the start (and minimize the curing time) I will be utilizing wild-aquacultured live rock.

Knowing that there are challenges (especially with incoming pests) associated wild-aquacultured live rock, I want to open a discussion regarding what type of wild-aquacultured live rock you used for your setup, and what pests you observed that came along with this rock. Please post your experience!

 

[Coralreefer1]

I had bought, Fiji, Tonga and the Marshall Islands before red tape and legal issues became common place. And then there was Florida live rock which was very nice with tunicates, sponges, benthic worms and various flora and fauna making this rock special.
Entering my aquariums as hitchhikers, I have had Mantis Shrimp, crabs that are not reef safe, barnacles, fire worms, various nudibranchs and anemones like Mojano and Aiptasia. these are just a handful of living animals that came in as hitchhikers. Some were easy to eliminate while others were a nightmare.

 

[JCM]

My rock came from KP Aquatics and gulfliverock. I've been happy with both.

I have a number of pistol shrimp which I don't consider a pest. Had a couple of gorilla or stone crabs that got some fish before I realized they were in there. I also have some fire worms. I've pulled a couple out but still see one occasionally. I've never noticed them hurting anything but will remove when the chance presents itself.

 

[naterealbig]

I had bought, Fiji, Tonga and the Marshall Islands before red tape and legal issues became common place. And then there was Florida live rock which was very nice with tunicates, sponges, benthic worms and various flora and fauna making this rock special.
Entering my aquariums as hitchhikers, I have had Mantis Shrimp, crabs that are not reef safe, barnacles, fire worms, various nudibranchs and anemones like Mojano and Aiptasia. these are just a handful of living animals that came in as hitchhikers. Some were easy to eliminate while others were a nightmare.

Thank you for the feedback, this is very helpful. Of all the things you mention, aptasia and mojano seem like the biggest risk. I enjoy having different type of worms in the display.. Did any of the nudibranchs survive, or end up being coral munchers?

The crabs and shrimp would seem fairly easy to eradicate, no?

Any issues with problem algae?

 

[naterealbig]

My rock came from KP Aquatics and gulfliverock. I've been happy with both.

I have a number of pistol shrimp which I don't consider a pest. Had a couple of gorilla or stone crabs that got some fish before I realized they were in there. I also have some fire worms. I've pulled a couple out but still see one occasionally. I've never noticed them hurting anything but will remove when the chance presents itself.

This is a great anecdote. Did you have any issues with aptasia?

Fish pests?

Thanks for adding the supplier here. KP is a great option for me as they are local, and would need to pay for shipping.

 

[JCM]

This is a great anecdote. Did you have any issues with aptasia?

Fish pests?

Thanks for adding the supplier here. KP is a great option for me as they are local, and would need to pay for shipping.

Two different types of anemones, glass bulb and I'm not sure what the other is. No aptasia though.

Those crabs were fish pests, I found a few half eaten fish before I ever saw the crabs. No other fish pests.

Lots of clams, gorgonians, sponges, macro algae, mithrax crabs, porcelain crabs, basket and brittle starfish, worms, pods, urchins, limpets, snails etc.

It's incredible rock,highly recommend KP (and gulf)

 

[Reefing102]

Back in the day…Fiji, Tonga, Marshall Islands, never too bad of an experience lol

Currently, in addition to what I kept from years ago, I went with KP. I had the following:

The GOOD:
Various macro algaes (most are gone now thanks to crabs and snails)
Various sponges, tunicates, and feather dusters
Pistol shrimp, lots of these (at least 4-5)
Hitchhiker coral (still working on figuring out the species)
Curley Que Anemone (can kill coral and fish, but I like it, just needs about 4-5” on each side)
Ruby Mithrax Crabs
Baby Flame Scallop (just found this guy the other day)
Various brittle stars
Baby pincushion urchin
Stomatellas

The not bad/not necessarily good:
Pencil Urchins (can cause some issues with coral from what I read and appears accurate in my tank)
A beautiful Yellow Mantis (I think he ended up dying) but was in my sump

The BAD:
Fireworms - various sizes. I found 2 small and 1 large over the course of several months munching my green mushrooms and green star polyps (haven’t seen any since)
Polyclad flatworms - found 2
Gorilla Crabs

I did not find any bad anemones such as Aiptasia.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I got fiji rock from the LFS. They had it in a big bin. Who knows how long. But there was lots of life. Filter feeders, sponges, pods, coralline algaes, asterina stars, and even a couple mushrooms. Those mushrooms kind of took over the tank due to neglect, but they were a nice freebie. I saw a crab fall off one of the rocks I took out but didn't get any actual pests in my tank. The bristle worms are all tiny, like 1-2" max. No fireworms or mantis shrimps or anything like that.