I had a Florida/Caribbean biotype in my 125 for a while. Most of my livestock came from www.mysaltwaterfishstore.com, but I also used KP Aquatics and Tampa Bay live rock. That was many years and many tank iterations ago, but I still have a pistol shrimp hitchhiker somewhere in the current tank but that I've never seen.
Setting up this tank really refreshed my memories from about 30 years ago as to why I got into the hobby. My venture into salt began with an interest of the live rock available back then. But a chunk of live rock and sit back and be amazed what came out of it.
Every night I go down to this tank after lights out with a flash light to see what’s happening. Tonight did not disappoint.
here’s a pic of a hitchhiker crab coming out into view for the first time. And a couple short videos of the same crab and a serpent star.
Setting up this tank really refreshed my memories from about 30 years ago as to why I got into the hobby. My venture into salt began with an interest of the live rock available back then. But a chunk of live rock and sit back and be amazed what came out of it.
Every night I go down to this tank after lights out with a flash light to see what’s happening. Tonight did not disappoint.
here’s a pic of a hitchhiker crab coming out into view for the first time. View attachment 56889View attachment 56890And a couple short videos of the same crab and a serpent star.
I love this type of tank! My latest tank is set up to be a red sea biotope, and though I sadly can't get red sea rock, I'm trying to keep the CUC and livestock tied to the red sea only. It's been a fun challenge! If you ever need a source for neat organisms, I know of two shops that collect from the keys/gulf area. www.gulfspecimen.org, which is a primarily lab supplier but they will work with you no matter what. They have access to some of the neatest stuff out there, however the minimum order cost of $70 is a bit prohibitive. Another store I know of is www.thewyldzone.com, they've actually got an account in here. I know the owner and he's a pretty great guy (I still owe him an anemone, come to think of it!) and he gets some cool stuff, and he also breeds a lot of the slugs and CUC himself. Definitely worth checking out.
short video of the decorator crab on a sponge after taking some of the sponge to decorate himself with. By far, this is the coolest creature I have had.
short video of the decorator crab on a sponge after taking some of the sponge to decorate himself with. By far, this is the coolest creature I have had.