aiptasia? Help in ID

[anna]

I have new live rock and am cycling my tank right now. I have 3-4 tiny (2 mm closed) creatures that, during the day, look like a white tip on a piece of rock. They let out a *very* long thin filiment with "feathers" of 2" +.


Is this the start of a long battle with aiptasia or am I just being paranoid?

Any suggestions welcome!

Thanks

 

[anna]

I took as close a look as possible. When extended it looks like the filament is coming out of a clear white tube. There are not 3-4 but around 10 of them on closer look. None look like an aneanome (sp? sorry it is late) but look more like clear/white blobs.

Anna

 

[danmhippo]

Tentacles of 2" are quite uncommon for aiptasia. I am guessing you have something else. If you have access to it, snap a few pics for us, and we can probably help you ID it better.

 

[danmhippo]

FWIW, it could be spaghetti worm, hydroids, fan worms, and various other organisms. Check in the Hitch hiker FAQ by clicking on the "library" link on the top. You may cross reference them with the pic provided.

Good Luck

 

[liquid]

Here's the direct url: http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/index.html



Shane

 

[anna]

I took a much closer look and managed to get a very bad picture of it. There is nothing like it on the web site.

It is about 2mm in size and seems to be made up of a clear jelly like tube. The tenticles are around 8" long and look like a feather.

The picture shows the clear tip (the largest of the set) that seems to have 3-4 individuals in the group.

During the day, you can't see anything, no white tip, no softness, no difference in the surfaces -- it looks like rock.

 

[klingsa]

Your description of the jelly-like body and the colonial nature makes me think of tunicates. They can project feeding appendages at night, and that may be the filament that you see. Can you see two distinct openings in the jelly part? There's usually an incurrent and an excurrent canal, and that's usually how you ID them. But there are all kinds, and if they are close enough to each other and small enough individually, it can be impossible to see that part. That's my guess, from your description and your picture.

Hope that helps! I have a lot of those filaments in my tank at night, and they've never done anything bad to coral or fish. And I do know they are not Aipasia's. I have plenty of experience with those!! :?

Sara