Interesting " flower"

[Callen]

Just saw this white " flower" on my rock. As I was admiring it, it suddenly retracted and was gone! Slowly it inched its way back open again. When a fish passes by it will close up and disappear. Any ideas what it might be?

 

[Leonardo7689]

Looks like a tiny feather duster

 

[Callen]

Do they open and close like that?

 

[Leonardo7689]

They close whenever they feel threatened or startled

 

[Callen]

Very cool! Thanks for the ID

 

[Dyl1234]

I'm new to saltwater... But I thought feather dusters looked more like a small "feather"?

 

[Callen]

I certainly don't know! If it helps with the ID at all, this thing is tiny....smaller than a pencil eraser when it is fully open. It appears to be on a stalk but when it is retracted it just looks like a dot on the rock.

 

[czwicky]

I'm thinking some type of anemone. Possibly pseudocorynactis?

 

[Mebbid]

I was thinking of an anemone as well. Possibly a rock flower?

 

[Dyl1234]

I was just looking over my live rock an I have one in a crack towards the back of my live rock. It looks just like yours.

 

[Callen]

I looked at y'all's suggestions. Can't really tell. I guess we just gotta wait on it to grow some more.

 

[Callen]

Look at me now! The " flower" has grown a bit and you can see a black ring in it now. I have also discovered at least 5 more of them on this same rock, but they are more brown in color. Deep in the crack there is a white tube with bright orange "feathers". Too recessed for me to get a good pic

Do y'all still think this is a feather duster?

The second pic is just zoomed in a bit to show you the black ring better but it loses clarity.

 

[Stlrockguy]

It's not a feather duster. It would be coming out of a tube if it was

 

[Bectan01]

I still think its a feather duster, I have a few that don't have 'stems' or at least you can't see them, they just appear to come out a rock...

 

[Leonardo7689]

You will eventually see the tube protrude out of the rock as it grows. It's pretty btw

 

[Themonsterisme]

It's is a feather duster...I have a few different types in my tanks...sometimes the tube is in a hole in the rock and when it grows more you will start to see the tube more