Tip of the Day – 6/19/2014

When live rock avalanches occur in your aquarium, there’s no need to panic, but there is certainly an immediate need to act. As the rocks shift, either due to natural settling, a fish that burrows, or some other reason, they can come tumbling down on each other in a hurry. Obviously, anything in the rock’s path will get crushed in the process, and this could be fish, corals, or invertebrates. For damaged coral, the remedy is to remove the fallen rock and try to put things back the way they were and hope the coral heals itself. For fish and inverts, it’s a different story as a falling rock could kill them instantly. Sometimes, however, the falling rocks can simply trap the aquarium livestock, which is why it is important to act fast once the landslide has been discovered.