Anemone hitchikers

[Sprattoo]

I got these couple of guys on a rock a while ago. They have now turned into 4... I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not, but their delicate ghostly tentacles sure are nice... they also have an almost NEON green stripe I cant capture in ther center.

 

[Anonymous]

The first time I saw the same thing in my tank, I totally thought it was an anemone. Turns out, it's a solitary calcerous polyp. Check it at night. Mine seem to expand further. They also tend to inhabit shady places with moderate to low current in my tank. It's really neat when they get embedded in other stuff growing on your rockwork. The biggest one I had was about 2" across in its "heyday" ... yay!

Here's a pic of one embedded in an orange sponge, it's quite large, so I'll just link it:
http://www.website-x.com/images/30l/polyp_huge.jpg

 

[Sprattoo]

interesting...

something like 2 or 3 weeks ago when I moved the rock these 2 were living on from a 55 that was in tough shape to a nice 75G I popped the rock in a corner where there is quite a bit of current from my return pump. they have since spread into 2 more little guys I hadn't noticed before (maybe they were working on this anyway)

No matter what they are a pleasant addition to the tank.

thanks for the ID

 

[tgfrench]

Thanks for the posting. I've been searching for an ID on these things. I've got a few on some rock I was given. Mine have a red tint to them when they are withdrawn. Under my actincs they appear to have an inner layer of tenticles with neon green tips.

terry

 

[z_rivers]

those are aiptasia and they are pest anemones. kill them before they multiply or you will have hundreds in a few months.

 

[Anonymous]

They're not aiptasia.

This is an aiptasia:

 

[Sprattoo]

I agree.. defintely not aiptasia.

They have spread a bit more... All aiptasia in my tank is gobbled up greedily by my peppermint shrimp. I now have one little aiptasia hiding in my overflow where shrimpy cant get him... but it wont be long!

These guys have a skeleton.. they are firm to the touch not like a slimy sack. I keep them on display right up front, their sweepers extend in actinic or no light.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting..

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=55487

Obviously not the same, but a tad similar..