fishface Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I just picked up a piece of live rock that has two large snails (maybe they're crabs) attached to it. I am just starting my tank and have one smaller crab and that's it other than some live rock. I purchased a piece of live rock that is really yucky-looking but it has two large "thingies" attached to it in large shells. Am I better off leaving them in the filthy water the rock came in? How do I go about introducing them to my clean tank from the grossly filthy pail the live rock is in? Do I need to clean anything first? Yes....I'm a newbie and any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10gReef Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 take the shells from the rock, carefully. put them in a baggy with water that came from where ever you got the rock. let them float for 30min then drop them in your new tank. do not add the water from the bag, that can contaminate your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 take the shells from the rock, carefully. put them in a baggy with water that came from where ever you got the rock. let them float for 30min then drop them in your new tank. do not add the water from the bag, that can contaminate your tank. I'll give it a try, but they're big and gross. What about the live rock they're attached to. It's really dirty but there's lots of live on it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Floating the baggie alone won't do anything but temperature-acclimate them. You need to add water from your tank to the baggie, a little at a time every 5 mins, until you have at least half and half old water and new water, to acclimate them to the water in your tank. As 10g says do not allow the water from the pail to get in your tank, or at least, as little as possible. If you're not able to get the shells off then don't sweat it, just put the rock in your tank. Look up "drip acclimation." This is the procedure you'll want to use for future additions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Floating the baggie alone won't do anything but temperature-acclimate them. You need to add water from your tank to the baggie, a little at a time every 5 mins, until you have at least half and half old water and new water, to acclimate them to the water in your tank. As 10g says do not allow the water from the pail to get in your tank, or at least, as little as possible. If you're not able to get the shells off then don't sweat it, just put the rock in your tank. Look up "drip acclimation." This is the procedure you'll want to use for future additions. This. I'm a newbie as well, and that's the exact process I used to acclimate my clean up crew of snails and hermits. No deaths doing it this way so far. I'm curious to see what these "thingies" are that you've picked up. Any way you can post a picture or two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Thanks for the input! If I get REALLY brave, I'll do it. They've crawled down to the dark, dark, filthy water but I'll try to get them with a net. As far as a photo goes, they just look like 2" shells with long legs. I don't know how to post a photo on here but if someone wants to enlighten me I'll be happy to give it a try. What about the live rock it's on? It's really dirty but I'm sure there's life on there. I would llike to keep as much of it in tact as possible, but it's so slimy and gross! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Sounds like hermits. Do you have any extra new saltwater sitting around? If it was me, I'd give it a good rinse and pull off any algae. You can (and should) wear gloves. Don't be worried about exposing it to air. It'll be just fine while you look it over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Oh, and to post a picture just click on "use full editor" next to the "post" button. Then options to add a picture will be below the place where you write your post. Why is the water and rock so dirty and gross? How long has it been sitting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Yeah I'd do what Kim suggested and mix up a new batch of saltwater to dip those rocks in. Don't use tap water to do it. That's a surefire way to kill off your critters on the rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 You guys are great! I got one of the critters in my tank adding a little of my water at a time, then using a net to scoop it into my 24 nano cube. Whatever it is, the other one looks just like it but I can't get at it right now. I missed my best opportunity to clean the shell. I wish I would've known that, but I will do it with the next one. The water is dirty because (1) the guy broke down his take the night before last; and (2) put the poor critters and rock in large, lidded plastic containers in his garage, a very unfortunate turn for the two damsels that he thought would make it. (?) When I was trying to feel around with the net for the crab critters, I kept pulling up wormy things with lots of legs. I don't doubt that some of this stuff is valuable life to someone...just not me. I was just looking for a little live rock. If anyone out there needs some dirty water with lots of life in it, just let me know. I'll try to attach a photo of the snails/crabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Thanks again everyone. Turns out I was royally ripped off by the guy who sold this stuff to me. EVERYTHING was dead, including the "live rock" he sold me, other than the one crab you see in the photo. Oh well, my bad. I still need some live rock if someone can point me to a reasonable place to get some. Thanks for all your help. I am happy to report that the one crab who made it through is doing nicely, as far as I can tell, and it's all because of the help I gor from you, so thanks from me and our one living guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 You can still use the rock, it just needs cleaning and you can fully dry it out. Live rock isn't even necessary for a tank, it's whatever direction you want to go. Some people use only dry rock and seed it with bacteria. No pests that way, but also no cool hitch-hikers. Sorry the stuff was mostly dead, that's a bummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 How do you know it is all dead. Most of the life in live rock is microscopic. Live rock is a bit ambiguous because it's referring to bacterias, algae, sponges, pods (amphipods and copepods), worms, and other invertebrates. Most of the life isn't visible so I wouldn't write off the rock as being dead, unless he said it's dead and has been out of water. Your bound to lose some of the life on rock when you move it, but it isn't necessarily dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 +1 what jestep said. Keep it in a bucket of clean saltwater with a pump for circulation until you get a chance to clean it off a little. If you already have live rock in the tank, it already contains the needed bacteria and will seed any new dry or dead rock you may add. But whether what you got is live or not, you should clean it off pretty thoroughly before putting it in your tank. Use a soft toothbrush to scrub any algae and rinse very thoroughly in clean saltwater; detritus can really hide on cracks and crevices and dirty rock can kick off a cycle in your tank. A really good idea is to do a water change on your tank and then use the removed water to do your rock cleaning. Kind of kills two birds with one batch of saltwater. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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