help________________________________________?

Question

how can u tell if live rock is dead by lookinng at it ps ive been told it grows a plant post a source of what it looks like or tell me the name thanks oh with out test kits

FOR SALTWATER TANKS

Answer 1

ive already responed to your email but growing a plant you are most likely thinking of some macro algae. there are many kinds of macro algae that can grow on live rock. A lot of people try to get rid of so its not always a good thing depending on what fish your keeping. If you have tangs than some macro algae is good but personally in my reef tanks i pull it out as first sight. some kinds that are common are maidens hair, caulerpa, and halimeda. search google for these and youll find lots of pics.

Answer 2

The only thing that's required to be "live" for the live rock is the bacteria that converts the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, so to be sure that this is "live" would require water tests - you can't tell just by looking. If you don't have a water test kit yourself (and for saltwater, you really should have this to monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH for the health of the organisms in your tank), you can take a sample to your pet store and have them test the water for you.

There are lots of other organisms that may grow on live rock as well, including coralline algae, macroalgae, sponges, bivalves, coral, anemones, etc., but what you'll have depends on where the rock was from, how long it's cured, and how good of lighting it's grown under. Every piece will look different than the next, but you should have some coralline algae at the least to see that the rock is in good condition - this will look like a pink, purple, red, or light green crust on the rock, sometimes with a whitish edge. You can do an image search on Yahoo! to get some photos to see as examples.

Answer 3

wat???