have you seen...

[dukes707]

have you seen this before. picked this up today, cant id it though. any ideas?its about 3.5" for scale. blue base with red/orange lines.

[kramgnik]

I believe it is a tunicate colony. They are lower nonphotosynthetic animals. They will require supplemental feeding of microscopic food particles. Do a google search and you will probably be able to find the species as well as more care instructions.

Mark

[musty baby]

"lower" may not be a suitable descriptor. Otherwise I think he's right.

[wantsalotta]

I would be interested in seeing a non actinic photo

[kramgnik]

Okay, a lower chordate animal. He is right, they are more evolutionarily evolved than cnidarians (corals, anemones).

[dukes707]

with just 14k 250's as requested. no shopping either.

[wantsalotta]

Originally posted by kramgnik
Okay, a lower chordate animal. He is right, they are more evolutionarily evolved than cnidarians (corals, anemones).

So, you think it has a backbone?

[dukes707]

honestly, when i was placing it in the tank, i touched the body and it felt more like it had tough leathery tissue like a leather, not soft squishy tissue like most LPS ive seen/handled. as well the tissue did not retract when touched. the mouths just closed. pretty hardy i suppose, i got him on the sand right now. no loss of pigmentation and opening nicely. so you guys think its a tunicate? ever seen one with this body style of coloration. i searched on it and cant really find a good comparo pic. any further info would be cool.

[Hormigaquatica]

Originally posted by wantsalotta
So, you think it has a backbone?

Not a backbone like in vertebrates, but Tunicates are actually chordates. Makes them interesting critters for study.

Ive never seen one with that pattern, but there are SO many species and different styles that Im never suprised when something different pops up. Very nice looking.

Make sure its in a spot with moderate water flow and low light to discourage algae from overgrowing it, and someplace where it can do heavy filter feeding, for best luck with it.

[wantsalotta]

Originally posted by Hormigaquatica
Not a backbone like in vertebrates, but Tunicates are actually chordates. Makes them interesting critters for study.

Ive never seen one with that pattern, but there are SO many species and different styles that Im never suprised when something different pops up. Very nice looking.

Make sure its in a spot with moderate water flow and low light to discourage algae from overgrowing it, and someplace where it can do heavy filter feeding, for best luck with it.

I stand corrected

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordate


and I am done jacking this fellas thread. It is a neat looking specimen