a Zoo?

[dgphelps]

Do any of you have any ideas on this LR hitchhiker? I was told it is most likely a zooanthid but I figure you'd be the ones to ask...

It opens during the day but extends further at night. It closes up whenever a snail bumps it but I do not have a photo of that.

http://www.frenchtulip.com/aquarium/polp1.jpg
sorry this is so blurry


http://www.frenchtulip.com/aquarium/polyp2.jpg
when it closes it kinda rolls itself in to leave a little bump like a golfing tee top.

Thank you.

[lllosingit]

I may be wrong but that looks like aptasia to me.

[Harpo]

Looks like aptasia to me too. Try to get a picture of it contracted and post it.

Mark

[Sid]

it could be aptasia, the tenticles look a bit short tough, is it fuly opened?,
it looks like a type of colonial anemone from the genus palythoa or zoanthus, i could be wrong

[Eric Boerner]

It's Palythoa. The oral disk is too flat and too broad to be Aptasia or Majano.

http://fins.actwin.com/pics/Palythoa_sp3.jpg

That's a full colony of Palythoa sp. Notice "right behind it" is an Aptasia.

Yours looks like it was living in very low light. It doesn't have much pigment to it. It'll start getting some darker colors when it gets used to being in the light more. Looks like it'll be a pink/grey palythoa.

[dgphelps]

Thanks Eric, I was pretty sure that it was not an aptasia. Dr. Shimek thought it could be a zoanthid so that is why I came to this forum for some help.

Right now it is towards the middle of my tank and it is getting pretty good light. Is there anything I can do to make it many instead of just one? Should I spot feed it anything? The water current is moderate to low where it is. It seems happier like this because before the movement was high it stayed close to the rock. Now it extends a little more often and closes on small things everyonce in a while.

I really like it. Seems to be my best hitchiker except for maybe some of the worms. I would like to see it do well in my tank.

[lllosingit]

Originally posted by lllosingit
I may be wrong but that looks like aptasia to me.
I did say I might be wrong:D, but to me it didn't look flat like a zoo but its kind of hard to tell without see it in person.

[Harpo]

I respectfully dissagree with Eric. I think the tentacles are too long for palythoa.

Mark

[lllosingit]

can you get a better picture maybe a side view?

[Eric Boerner]

Here's another picture of Aiptasia amongst Palythoa Grandis.

http://www.multichem.net/SonicSausage/Fish/Marines/Images/2002.05.01/main/Aiptasia%20on%20side%20of%20zooanthid%20colony.jpg

Here is a nice close up of a common Aiptasia

http://www.reefcorner.com/images/Aiptasia4.jpg

Yet another image of Palythoa, these with long tenticles....

http://www.acquaportal.it/Articoli/Marino/Invertebrati/zoantiniari/images/varie/pal2.jpg

Majano is completely different. At best, Majano looks like a miniture BTA. They are easy to tell apart.

[vulkum]

i have to agree with eric looks like palythoa to me to. although mojano's oral disk looks like that the tenticles on mojano are totally differant. heres a pic of mojano

[Rock Anemone]

it's a zooanthid. I cna tell by the white specs on it. I have 2 of these in my nano, no need to worry.

Rock Anemone:D

[melev]

http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/pulsing_xenias_and_greentipped_anemones.jpg

Here are a couple of mejanos. Or better named: Tribbles

[cmoreash]

it's a zooanthid. I cna tell by the white specs on it. I have 2 of these in my nano, no need to worry.

I thought they confirmed that it's NOT, and that it's a palythoa :p

It looks a lot like a palythoa to me, but those tentacles are pretty fat at the base, but maybe that's because it wasn't in much light, like eric said