[untamed]

Originally Posted by piusma

You would want to know why you wanted the liveliest rock, to sustain the fish / reef tank you don't need the liveliest rock. In fact a lot of the hitch hikers might not be wanted. I.e. Crabs, bad snails / Stars.

And even if you did got the most diverse live form from your rocks, a lot of them will eventually die off because our tank just isn't perfect for them. I believe as long as the rocks has the good bacteria in them, they are good. And focus on getting the right shape and size for your aquascaping!

Steven

...because it isn't just about trying to keep fish/reef only (for me). I made as much effort as possible to keep most everything alive. I never removed a crab, and had as many as 6 mantis in the tank at the beginning. The only critter I hunted out was ciranolid(s)

Too much has died off. I would want to improve that if that life were reintroduced.

Really, if it is only about bacteria, I think one would be better with artificial rock. You can't prevent bacteria from happening.