Still at.25

* George Patterson wrote, On 10/3/2006 7:14 PM:
StringerBell wrote:

Lots of pods,snails and little feather dusters have emerged. Also a
lot of plants springing up.

Great! I've got some pods I'm feeding, some things that look like they
might turn into aipstasia (hope not), something that looks like tiny sea
fans, and one or two other items that look like they will be
interesting. My oldest rock has sprouted some bivalves and a plant that
seems to be spreading. No feather dusters yet (I'm envious), but one can
hope.

I just put another 15 lbs of rock in my newest tank. Algae plants,
feather-dusters, sponges, bright red clusters of something, weird little things
on it. One of the rocks has a little round white ball about 1/8" across, with
wide-spaced stiff white spines a bit over 1/8" long coming off it. I placed the
rock so I could see it, but it hasn't changed or moved. A critter came in on
the rock too, because it's digging under one of the base rocks, left a little
pile at the edge.
My problem is I enjoy watching the rock come to life so much that I can't quit
buying it. I really didn't NEED any more, but they got a new shipment, and this
one piece had so much stuff on it that it looked like its own little reef.
Beautiful pink/orange coralline, which of course has faded...
I made a mistake the last time we went to the beach and brought home a little
crab. Not a hermit crab, looks like a stone crab maybe. Dark brown, pretty big
claws, stalks around the tank like a muscle-bound bodybuilder, ya know how their
arms don't hang straight because the muscles are too big...Yeah anyway I put him
in my 8-gal, and he dug ALL the sand out from under the rocks and piled it
around the edges and ate my peppermint shrimp. So he got moved to a 2-gal., and
he guards it jealously. It was one of those little oval plexi tanks that has an
airline built in that goes along the bottom of the tank under the sand. I turn
on the air once in awhile and he RUNS out and attacks the bubbles -- it's
hilarious. VBG I call him Rocky.

Cindy

I just saw a pistachio-nut-sized clam in there that got me a lot more
excited than it probably should have


"Cindy" wrote in message
m...

My problem is I enjoy watching the rock come to life so much that I can't
quit buying it. I really didn't NEED any more, but they got a new
shipment, and this one piece had so much stuff on it that it looked like
its own little reef. Beautiful pink/orange coralline, which of course has
faded...
I made a mistake the last time we went to the beach and brought home a
little crab. Not a hermit crab, looks like a stone crab maybe. Dark
brown, pretty big claws, stalks around the tank like a muscle-bound
bodybuilder, ya know how their arms don't hang straight because the
muscles are too big...Yeah anyway I put him in my 8-gal, and he dug ALL
the sand out from under the rocks and piled it around the edges and ate my
peppermint shrimp. So he got moved to a 2-gal., and he guards it
jealously. It was one of those little oval plexi tanks that has an
airline built in that goes along the bottom of the tank under the sand. I
turn on the air once in awhile and he RUNS out and attacks the bubbles --
it's hilarious. VBG I call him Rocky.

Cindy

* StringerBell wrote, On 10/5/2006 12:47 AM:
I just saw a pistachio-nut-sized clam in there that got me a lot more
excited than it probably should have

That's cool! I've never got a clam on my rock...

Cindy wrote:

That's cool! I've never got a clam on my rock...

I've got several, and they seem to be proliferating. I'm no longer sure this is
a good thing?

But, yeah, it's more exciting than it logically should be. They don't do much.

George Patterson
All successes in conservation are temporary. All defeats are permanent.

* George Patterson wrote, On 10/5/2006 5:21 PM:
Cindy wrote:

That's cool! I've never got a clam on my rock...

I've got several, and they seem to be proliferating. I'm no longer sure
this is a good thing?

But, yeah, it's more exciting than it logically should be. They don't do
much.

But they're ALIVE, and they're from the ocean! BG

I can't recall ever getting any animals from my LR :-( I've always been
jelious of those got them. (free live stock)
Good luck with your tank, sounds like its progressing nicely
"Cindy" wrote in message
om...
* George Patterson wrote, On 10/5/2006 5:21 PM:
Cindy wrote:

That's cool! I've never got a clam on my rock...

I've got several, and they seem to be proliferating. I'm no longer sure
this is a good thing?

But, yeah, it's more exciting than it logically should be. They don't do
much.

But they're ALIVE, and they're from the ocean! BG

"Peter Pan" wrote in message Good luck with your
tank, sounds like its progressing nicely

Thanks. The thing is---most of the time I dont know what I`m really looking
at. There are some soft things coming out of the rock. Some look like what I
would think are "sponges" but I really have no idea.
BTW---how do clams grow? Do they shed their shells? Or do the shells grow
with them?

"George Patterson" wrote in message

I've got several, and they seem to be proliferating. I'm no longer sure
this is a good thing?


How do they proliferate? I keep thinking I see more---but am never quite
sure. There are a few empty shells that must have dropped from the rock. If
they died in the cycle, I dont know why I dont see any "meat" in the shells.
All the shells are about Pistachio-nut sized or smaller.

Also---in the Pod department---there is a handfull of much larger animals in
that "scene" that seem very aggressive. It looks like they are eating
voraciously---almost "pumping" through the water in repetetive short bursts.
There are tons of Pods in there. I was thinking if the first fish introduced
was a pod-eater it could be a very successful acclimation.

StringerBell wrote:

How do they proliferate? I keep thinking I see more---but am never quite
sure. There are a few empty shells that must have dropped from the rock. If
they died in the cycle, I dont know why I dont see any "meat" in the shells.
All the shells are about Pistachio-nut sized or smaller.

Well, every so often, a small one appears where there wasn't one before. I have
several that resemble green pistachio nuts. One just appeared a week or so back
and is tiny. The largest is nut sized. They aren't forming colonies; I have no
idea where the next one will appear. Mine are definitely alive, since each is
slightly open, and I can see the flesh inside. One of mine is on a piece of dead
coral and couldn't have come in with the rock, so they have to be reproducing.

I also have something about 1.5" long that seems to be some sort of limpet. It
looks like part of the rock, but it closes up when you touch it. The effect is
as if part of the rock suddenly shrank.

As far as no meat in your shells is concerned, shellfish spoil and rot very
rapidly. All of mine are firmly secured to something. I would guess that, if you
find one lying on the substrate, it's dead.

Also---in the Pod department---there is a handfull of much larger animals in
that "scene" that seem very aggressive. It looks like they are eating
voraciously---almost "pumping" through the water in repetetive short bursts.
There are tons of Pods in there. I was thinking if the first fish introduced
was a pod-eater it could be a very successful acclimation.

I've been thinking the same myself and wondering if a 125 gallon tank is large
enough to keep enough pods growing to feed a Mandarin.

George Patterson
All successes in conservation are temporary. All defeats are permanent.

They are probably mussels. They send sperm and eggs into
the water. I think some species fertilize internally, and
then send out the eggs. I know there is one fresh water
clam that is a live bearer.

The mussels will attach to the rock, and will move around,
so they can be in one spot one day, and in another spot
another day.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



George Patterson wrote on 10/6/2006 11:02 AM:
StringerBell wrote:

How do they proliferate? I keep thinking I see more---but am never
quite sure. There are a few empty shells that must have dropped from
the rock. If they died in the cycle, I dont know why I dont see any
"meat" in the shells. All the shells are about Pistachio-nut sized or
smaller.

Well, every so often, a small one appears where there wasn't one before.
I have several that resemble green pistachio nuts. One just appeared a
week or so back and is tiny. The largest is nut sized. They aren't
forming colonies; I have no idea where the next one will appear. Mine
are definitely alive, since each is slightly open, and I can see the
flesh inside. One of mine is on a piece of dead coral and couldn't have
come in with the rock, so they have to be reproducing.

I also have something about 1.5" long that seems to be some sort of
limpet. It looks like part of the rock, but it closes up when you touch
it. The effect is as if part of the rock suddenly shrank.

As far as no meat in your shells is concerned, shellfish spoil and rot
very rapidly. All of mine are firmly secured to something. I would guess
that, if you find one lying on the substrate, it's dead.

Also---in the Pod department---there is a handfull of much larger
animals in that "scene" that seem very aggressive. It looks like they
are eating voraciously---almost "pumping" through the water in
repetetive short bursts.
There are tons of Pods in there. I was thinking if the first fish
introduced was a pod-eater it could be a very successful acclimation.

I've been thinking the same myself and wondering if a 125 gallon tank is
large enough to keep enough pods growing to feed a Mandarin.

George Patterson
All successes in conservation are temporary. All defeats are
permanent.