Need Help in Identifying These Polyp

[Heater_Engineer]

I've looked in all my books, a lot of web sites and still have not been able to identify this thing. I do not have a DC yet so I'll have to used my power of description and hope someone can tell me what I have or where I can find a web site which would help.

13mm - 16mm in diameter. Approximately 75 tentacles????? 2mm - 3mm dia. with small bulbed tips. Tentacles are green flouresent centering to a 4mm - 6mm purple/black center. No visible stalk.

What do I have?????........Stacy

[reefesquire]

I have a similar unidentified polyp that came on the live rock. The tentacles only rim the perimeter, so its a little like a zooanthid, but not quite. Tentacles are definitely green and a little bulbous at the end.

Mine grew so eventually I could see a stem. Then it split into two. Six months later and I have seven of them!

They're very happy low in my tank. And eat whatever I feed them.

The closest animal I found in a book was a "Tube Anemone."

[goby]

hey...

I think I know what you guys have, as I have a few of them myself. Look in TRA. II and right next to the page that aiptasia are on, this guy is on... seems that they are just a "pretty" version of aiptasia... and will sting and kill most everything that gets in its way... I got mine on some rock that came from monona... any idea where yours came from? Also the ones that I have are quite mobile... do yours move much?

hope it helps.

g
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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)

[reefesquire]

Nope.
Aiptasia is on pg. 370 of TRA II, and mine is most definitely not aiptasia or the curley-cue anemone on page 371. Its stubbier and less elegant than aiptasia, and its green. No they haven't move except perhaps a half inch after they split...

Actually, the closest picture to my polyp in TRA II is on page 377 - - the Condylactis gigantea, bottom picture, because the tentacles do not rim the mouth.
But I don't think its a Condy because (1) mine are only 1/2 inch in diameter and (2) Sprung says on page 378 that Condies only reproduce sexually, but mine are quite definitely dividing!

Thanks for offering a suggestion. Any other thoughts?

[goby]

ok, so i am mistaken on the location in the book, i will look them up in the book tonite and post some more info about it in the am, I remember finding them in my tank, and scouring the books looking for info on them.. green, the tips look like bubble tips, tiny, about the size of palythoa polyps, I find that the bubble tips go away at night.. mine rarely move, but the ones I have came from ignatz, who had a bunch running all over his tank... I had never seen or heard of anything like them, and was intrigued by them, but worried that they would be a nasty thing, so I did some research, and sure enough they are in one of the TRA books.

more to follow...


g
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b
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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)

[Phillstone]

I also have one of these that came on my live rock. I saw one just like mine at a LFS and we have identified it is an anemone very closely related to aiptasia. It is not as prolific as it's cousin and much cooler looking. Mine started out the size of a pencil eraser and now 6 weeks later is the size of a quarter, at this rate I figure he'll out grow my 90 gal in less than 6 months(lol). I feed it twice a week, it takes BB size pieces of raw shrimp ( one raw shrimp from grocery store = $.24 and a strange look from the butcher guy-hehe)

Enjoy your freebie critter, Phill

[FishDaddy]

Stacy,
I looked in my Baensch, Vol. I, and from your description, particularly the bubble tips, they could be some species of Corallimorphidae. Might be worth a search.
Dick

[Heater_Engineer]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Fishdaddy I'll check out that reference and Go Vols!!

Thanks, Stacy

[Zmann]

Phillstone I think what you have is a curlycue anemone. They max out around 2 to 3 inches. The only thing you should be feeding to them is Kalk through a hyperdermic needle. They will take over your tank if you dont. Dont try to squish them with anything or it will split into 3 or 4. This type of anemone is not as bad as aptasia but close enough.

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Our Little Ocean (http://www.fortunecity.com/boozers/bell/738)

[This message has been edited by Zmann (edited 04-26-2000).]

[goby]

netkerk,

The reason that I know that they are nudibranchs is that I had them ID'd by a guy that either larry or jim hobbs suggested that I contact. I was given some info on them, and they matched both the description and the feeding habits (living under a rock durring the day, eating a leather coral by night. In a few days time I lost a dozen yellow polyps, then the leather started to disapear...slowly.. so, I took it out to freshwater dip it to kill the protozoans that had begun to infect its wounds, and found the 2 nudi's on the bottom of the rock they were on. I saved them for a while, but eventually, they were euthanized at I was not going to be buying them corals to eat on a regular basis.

hope it helps!

oh, and phillstone is right.. they are a realative to aiptasia, and even sprung and delbeek make a refrense to aiptasia when giving the description of these guys.. you may want to look up aiptasia in the index as I think it will point you to the page that they are on as well.

g
o
b
y


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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)

[netjerk]

Sorry this has noth'n to do with the subject, but I viewed Goby's homepage from the link of his post and read the Nudibranches he had. Those looks more like flat worms to me than nudibranches..and yes..they can be a pain to get rid of! Thought I'd just input that =)

[goby]

TRA vol. II , p.374


g
o
b
y


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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)

[reefesquire]

Goby, thanks. Mine could be that, although its still not precisely the polyp pictured. Besides, I'm in denial: I love these little guys and I don't want them to turn out to be evil. They have not left their shared small rock and there's nothing near them to harm.

Even so, I'll keep an eye out for evil tendencies.

[goby]

this should go back to the top...

everyone should be aware of these little buggers and be aware that they are synonymous with aiptasia.

g
o
b
y


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It's all fun and games until someone looses and eye....
www.iag.net/~vigg (http://www.iag.net/~vigg)