# Interesting incident with hitchhiker after applying live rock



## Nazz4232 (Oct 1, 2011)

Well I supplied my new tank with the live rock today. Got it all set up and my buddy noticed something moving in the rock. Thought to myself oh cool got a hitch hiker. Come to find out it was a mantis shrimp. Now being a brave soul my friend got the rock the shrimp was living on and We threw it into a bucket of cold tap water. The shrimp instantly came out of the rock and I think died. So now I have a question the shrimp hasnt moved for hours so im assuming its dead, Would i be okay putting the shrimp back into the tank? I heard or read that throwing a dead shrimp in there will start the cycle.


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## bveister (Aug 9, 2011)

I was the buddy that was there and I just want to add that we threw the rock in cold water because it was freshly bought from the LFS and the beneficial bacteria had not formed yet so we knew we weren't hurting that aspect of it....still it was an interesting experience


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## Nazz4232 (Oct 1, 2011)

dude these things are worth like 40 bucks we shouldve saved it


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I'd toss a dead one in there personally. Your dead one has it's entire exoskeleton and will probably take longer to start to rot. One from the deli should start to rot within 24 hours. It's up to you though!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Uhm, depending on the live rock, it should have already been cycled from day one, or maybe two.


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## travelerjp98 (Dec 5, 2011)

bveister said:


> I was the buddy that was there and I just want to add that we threw the rock in cold water because it was freshly bought from the LFS and the beneficial bacteria had not formed yet so we knew we weren't hurting that aspect of it....still it was an interesting experience


The bacteria is already ON the live rock... what do you mean that it "didn't form yet"????? Now your just going to get more die-off of the bacteria in your tank...


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## Nazz4232 (Oct 1, 2011)

we didnt start the cycle yet so we didnt lose any time when we took it out and threw it in the cold water


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

BTW you do not want mantis shrimp in your aquarium. They will kill crabs, snails and shrimp, and they can punch so hard that it breaks the aquarium glass.


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## Hansolo (Sep 10, 2010)

That's really the point of "live" rock. Its full of beneficial organisms you would find in a fully cycled tank. The rock itself isn't alive, its full of living things that all died along with the shrimp.


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