Tunicates

[sen5241b]

Ok, for the last month I've been thinking I had aiptasia but now I'm certain what I really have is tunicates. They are considered a pest? The "Stop Aiptasia" product got rid of them but now they are making a little come back. Anyone had to deal with them?

 

[reeffreak]

Tunicates(sea aquirts) are harmless.They are filter feeders,draws water in a siphon hole.How can you confuse a tunicate with aiptasias?

 

[fatman]

I personally like tunicates and sponges. Good live rock that has always been kept submerged nearly always has tunicates and sponges. They are, as said above, filter fedders and therefore have few organisms to take food away from in a typical aquarium. They can utilizes organics that would otherwise just feed algae or be turned into nitrates. Stirring the upper levels of sand and feeding phytoplankton increases their chances of living. They do not live long in clean tanks unless purposely fed. They do better in tanks where the inhabitants are over fed and the water is not changed often enough. They, in the wild, can be found in some pretty polluted water. To get rid of tunicates and sponges just do frequent partial water changes and do not overfeed and they will, sadly, starve to death.

 

[Bifferwine]

Do you have a picture? Like Freak said, tunicates look nothing like aiptasia and I'm having a hard time believing you confused the two.

Could it be majano anemones too? Those are also considered pest anemones and could be confused with aiptasia.

 

[sen5241b]

I've googled a gazillion images of aiptasia and haven't seen one pic that looked like what I got. Some of the tunicates images look similar. What I have looks exactly like a very small single anemone tentacle but with a hollow tube. All the aiptasia I saw looked like a cluster of anemone tentacles growing from a single trunk.

This image comes closest to what I have:

 

[Gooseman]

there are all kinds of tunicates and sea squirts ... they come in various shapes and colors ... i have two in my tank and i change 10G of my water every week ... they seem to be doing fine ... maybe eventually they will die off

 

[fatman]

I've googled a gazillion images of aiptasia and haven't seen one pic that looked like what I got. Some of the tunicates images look similar. What I have looks exactly like a very small single anemone tentacle but with a hollow tube. All the aiptasia I saw looked like a cluster of anemone tentacles growing from a single trunk.

This image comes closest to what I have:

Tunicates. Filter feeding organims, just as are sponges and tube worms. It is a typical hitch hiker on Florida maricultured live rock, and uasually absent from Pacific live rock as it, like sponges, dies quickly if left wet and not submerged, so they are usually scrubbed off by the retailers. Most people that do recieve them on live rock, do not feed them and they end up starving out as most often do sponges. Stirring the sand bed and feeding phytoplankton will often keep them alive for a year or more, but reagardlesss of any ones efforts, in a contained environment, their days are numbered.

 

[Bifferwine]

If what you have are tunicates, then they are not considered a pest. I have a really big golf-ball sized yellow one in my tank that I try to take care of. They are neat hitch hikers, and my LFS sells more brightly colored (red, purple, blue) ones for a lot of $$$$.