Quote:
Originally Posted by evilvelle
...is there a way to dip or clean the rocks of pests and still keep it live with all the beautiful coraline algae?
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It's not the smartest thing I've ever done, but to get rid of the last few of my hitchhiking crabs (the ones so stubborn they wouldn't come out for even fresh water dips) I placed the pieces of LR that I suspected of having crabs into a bucket, then poured club soda through the holes/caves. The crabs got out in a big damn hurry.
It sounds extreme, but I suffered no discernible fallout for my ridiculous actions. I still have plenty of creepies and there was no increase in nitrates (i've never had ammonia). Before going crazy though, you could try an hour or two in a bucket without water with the lights off, or a short fresh water dip to see what you get.
All that being said, the time we spend with our live rock during the cycling process feels like a rite of passage. It's also a lot of fun. Maybe it gets old after you've set up several aquariums, but I think everyone in the hobby should go through those ups and downs at least once
**edit**
Here's the pic of my suspected eunicid - the pic isn't as good as sushi's (thanks so much for posting those!) but I think it's safe to call it a positive ID? Just above where the pics cuts off I have two colonies of Zoas
