Anyone know what this is?

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 03:07 PM

I've got a buddy who's got a colony of these brown little things in his tank. From his description and blury photo I think it may be the same thing I have in my tank and my wife's tank. They look like mini button polyps or anemones of some sort but always seem to grow in colonies rather than just one or two. Here's a link to the ones in my 60gal. http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...tonPolyps1.jpg and here's the ones in my wife's 24 gal cube http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ttonpolyps.jpg In this shot they are harder to locate but they are just below and to the right of the Kenya tree. Since I have them, my wife does, and my buddy does I assume they are quite common. What are they? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

JY13131 · 05-23-2007, 03:10 PM

I think I am looking at aptasia, a pest anemone. If you do a search, there is a lot of information on how to get rid of them

ckusnierek · 05-23-2007, 03:25 PM

the tenticales look too fine for aipt. they look like my yellow polyps but brown.

do they almost go away when touched or close up like a zoa?

When aipt are messed with the retract soooo much you can hardly see them.

Twitterbait · 05-23-2007, 04:23 PM

I say aptasia. poke them and watch how they withdraw. if they leave a leathery stump then they are polyps. if they completly withdraw to a slimy pile or disappear then they are aptasia. if so you will want to nuke them with lemon juice.

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 04:33 PM

I'm unfortunately quite familiar with aiptasia and didn't think that is what these guys are. I haven't seen aiptasia grow in a colonial fashion or in quite this color. Additionally, these have been this size for some time now where aiptasia typically grow from this size fairly rapidly. Also, aiptasia, in my experience usually occurs individually all rather than in colonies. I'm not trying to argue here, just discuss and clarify. I really do appreciate everyone chiming in. Hold on, let me poke these guys and see what they do. Anyone have a stick?

NewFishGirl · 05-23-2007, 04:40 PM

My aptasia grew in colonies just like the pictures above.

But I'm not saying that is what you have. I am definitely no expert!

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 04:46 PM

Ok, they don't disappear at all, they kind of suck in/close up like zoas and leave a stump. They're so small it's really hard to see if they are curling in/closing up like a polyp or retracting in like a tube worm. My guess is curling up.

gwaco · 05-23-2007, 05:04 PM

look like hyroids to me .

tdwyatt · 05-23-2007, 05:52 PM

hydroids

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 06:00 PM

Ok, Tdwyatt may be on to something. Quoted from the following web site http://njscuba.net/biology/sw_plant-like.html#Hydroid "Snail Fur" is a hydroid that grows as a pinkish fuzz only on shells inhabited by hermit crabs. Living snails that plow through the sand or empty shells that tumble with the waves and currents are not suitable homes for Snail Fur because of the abrasive action of the sand. But once the shell is commandeered by a hermit crab, most of its surface, except where the shell is dragged along behind the new homeowner and scrapes the sand, is kept out of the sediments and is available for colonization by the hydroids.

This looks as close as anything I've found in my research. Mine is not pinkish and isn't on my crabs or snails, it's on my live rock but perhaps it's just a different species/variety.

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 06:03 PM

They look fairly similar to these from my tank right?

tyson · 05-23-2007, 06:41 PM

definately hydroids. i had a rock that had both hydroids and aptasia, i joes juiced the aptasia and bought a pep. shrimp. he ate the hydroids and kept the aptasia from coming back.
some say it hit or miss with the pep. shrimp but mine is definately doing his job!

corrado007 · 05-23-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyson

definately hydroids. i had a rock that had both hydroids and aptasia, i joes juiced the aptasia and bought a pep. shrimp. he ate the hydroids and kept the aptasia from coming back.
some say it hit or miss with the pep. shrimp but mine is definately doing his job!

Are Hydroids supposed to be undesireable? Do they sting corals or something? You're right about peppermint's eating aiptasia, I recently got a pair and they ate most all of my aiptasia before moving on to my frogspawn and ripping a few chunks out of that. I've pulled them from the tank since that happened.