I need to stay away from my tank. Finding new 'weird' things

[Verbalkint]

For instance. These 3 things...

This, we saw for the 1st time, sort of, tonight. We have seen in many times, but thought it was a fossilized part of the rock... Till it moved.

Then, there's this thing. It was small, but keeps getting bigger and bigger. Now, I think there are a total of 3 of these in the tank, varying in size.

And Finally, this one is a transparent-ish version of the previous image. Same thing,??? I dunno.

I welcome anyone to assist with identification, and tell me if any of these pose a threat, or are generally not 'good guys'

Many Thanks.


Dave

 

[Brad]

The first one is a limpit. Harmless algae eater, I believe.

The 2nd one looks like an aiptasia anemone. (Collect other opinions, pls) Aiptasias have a bad reputation for simply reproducing themselves into pest status. 3 turns into 6, turns into 15, turns into 100... I'll let others chime in with Aiptasia cures as I've never had one.

#3? Don't know. Looks similar to aiptasia, could be a related species. As long as there is only 1, there's no problem....yet.

 

[w|z]

Joe's Juice should take care of the aiptasia. there were 4 that came with the LR that we got, it's been 5 days now and I can see more that 10 in my tank.
http://www.joesjuice.com
Thanks for the guys for letting us know...

 

[RMPD109]

The first is definately a limpet. They are suppose to eat coralline as well as other types of algae although I have several and have seen no impacton it. The second is an aptasia anenome. They are common and if not kept in check they will spread rapidly. Some suggest the joes juice mentioned earlier but I just used a peppermint shrimp that keeps them in check with no effort on my part. The last appears to be a glass anenome or curly-Q anenome and is similar to the aptasia. I personally dont mind either of these anenomes but I also dont want them taking over the tank. The shrimp has eaten them all except 3 large ones and then it takes care of all newcomers.

 

[EBR]

Agreed on the limpet.
The anenome, however, is a dead-ringer for my curly-Q that grew out my LR.com order, like this (sorry, I'm at work and don;t have apic of my own):

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=63&root_parent_id=4

from what I've read, the curly Q is pretty harmless and doesn't move much. Mine started the size of a pencil eraser, and it's main disk is now 3" across (in less than a year), and has not replicated.

HTH.
Matt

 

[Verbalkint]

Well, With #1, we have counted 3 of them in the tank (As of lastnight)

With #2, there are currently 4. The one in the pic has a disk size of about a quarter. The other 3 are progressivly smaller, down to a pencil eraser.

With #3, there are again, at least 4 that I can see, and it looks like there's another one starting to grow on a different peice of LR.

So,
#1: Harmless algae eater.. Ok.. check.. No Problem
#2: Cute, harmless, but can attain pest status pretty quick eh?
#3: Harmless, stationary (for the most part)

Cool.. As far as Joe's Juice.. I'd rather not kill off anything that i don't absolutly have to, but if they start getting out of check, i guess i could cull them a bit.

Does anyone have more informaiton on the Limpit things?

Thanks for the replies.

 

[steve-s]

Agreed on the first two but #3 looks like a type of Astrangia. Look closely at the base and you will see a CaCO3 skelatal structure. No concern with it at all.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Verbalkint]

As far as using a pepermint shrimp to control the aiptasia...

I have one concern.. Would my snowflake or puffer (Green Spotted) find the shrimp too tatsy to ignore?

 

[Fluff]

Limpets are awesome algae grazers. Yours is a keyhole. I have bunches of them in my tank and have never had a problem with them. It's said they will eat coralline as well as soft corals but I've never had a problem with them doing either. My limpets have been with me for over two years. They are very hearty. What else do you want to know?
I agree with the Id of the apstasia. I think the bottom pic is a hidden cup coral. Phyllangia americana. Close to the bottom of the page is a pic of one.
http://users.adelphia.net/~douglaswr/Hardcorals.html
Good luck.

 

[Fluff]

I don't know much about puffers but, from what I've heard, I'm sure your puffer would love a shrimpy snack. LOL

 

[Verbalkint]

Ahh.. Yes... That is EXACTLY what it looks like. (Hidden Cup Coral (Phyllangia americana))

I have a new one starting to grow on a new part of liverock.. You can see the base pretty well on that one.. Looks almost like the Sarlac pit in RoTJ.


Much Thanks.

 

[got bait?]

Snowflake would love a shrimpy snack as well. But if he stays away, you could get lucky. Mine hardly ever come out in plain view. For 6 bucks they're a great ap. killer.

 

[IndyReef]

yes the puffer and the snowflake would eat the shrimp. i am wondering if the shrimp would even make it to the bottom of the tank before digestion.



1. ok
2. suggest getting rid of
3. any of the ids are okay so leave it.

enjoy. LR is so much fun.

 

[lando]

Fluff beat me to it. I agree with her, the 3rd pic looks like a hidden cup coral.