Unidentified Hitchiker

[staceyfenea]

Can anyone tell me what type (good or bad) coral or what this is? When I setup my tank I had one of these on this rock. That was seven or eight months ago. About three weeks ago all the sudden there are two. Sorry about the quality of the pictures.

 

[Rcpilot]

Some kind of polyp. Doesn't look like an aiptasia to me.

Rock anemone?

Can you try to feed it? Put a little piece of meaty fish food on it's tentacles. If it curls up and eats the food, then it's either a rock anemone, palythoa or aiptasia.

EDIT:
I've been in the hobby for a little over 2.5yrs. Still a newb. But I've developed some pretty strict rules about my tanks in the last 14-18 months. If I didn't put it in there on purpose - and I can't get a positive ID on it - I yank that sucker out of there and get rid of it.

That's just me though. I'm not telling you to kill it. Get a positive ID on it first and then decide.

 

[staceyfenea]

I have fed it. It does curl up and eat the food. I have a few aiptasia in the tank as well. But these do not look like those.

 

[Rcpilot]

I'd for sure kill those aiptasia. :chair::fechten2:

I found ONE attached to a rock in my frag tank about 2yrs ago. I yanked that rock out of there so fast I took 1/2 the tank water with it. I took it to the kitchen sink and studied the foot to see where was the best spot to slice it off. I found the foot had grown out of a hole the size of a pencil. So I sliced the stalk off flush with the rock and then went after the foot with a masonry bit and a cordless drill. I bored a hole down in that rock about 2" deep. The foot was only down about 1/2 inch and the rest of the way I was just boring through rock and making a lot of heat. When the bit was around 2" deep, I removed it and then proceeded to chunk flakes of rock off around the surface of the hole to make a sort of cone shaped crater on the rock face. I flushed it with hot tap water and then dried the whole thing with paper towels and Q-tips. I filled the entire hole with super glue. It took a long time for all that super glue to dry, but I was able to do a little at a time and then drop a few drops of saltwater on the glue to help it cure faster. Then a few more drops of glue and a few more drops of water. I filled the hole to the top and gave it 10 more minutes out of the tank to cure.

I haven't seen anymore of those little buggers. :chair:

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

its a majano anenome, and its considered a pest

 

[andysgirl8800]

Can you get a better picture? That's a Mojano? It looks like a tiny leather.

 

[Rcpilot]

Kill it!! ......... and those darn aiptasia too.

We got positive ID. It's a pest. Light the candles and sharpen the swords!! :fechten2:

 

[Bifferwine]

Those definitely look like majano to me too! I know majano when I see it -- it took over my 240 and killed nearly everything in it! Nightmare! Run! They are worse than aiptasia!!

But you can kill them the same way. Aiptasia X will take care of them.

 

[Rcpilot]

Aiptasia x might do the trick.......


but cordless drills and masonry bits are much more satisfying. :chair:

 

[PRC]

I believe those are majano as well...Why you ask? Because I've been killing them all day. Little bastards are sneaky.

 

[staceyfenea]

Chris, I don't have a drill. I think I will have to go with the Aiptasia X. Thanks everybody for the ID. Chris you crack me up.

 

[staceyfenea]

PRC - How are you killing them?

 

[Rcpilot]

:chair:

 

[yote]

I guess I'm the only one on the site that actually kept 2 majanos for a while.:D But mine never did spread.They actually got crowded out by the green zoanthids that was on the same rock.

 

[reeffreak]

Majano anemone for sure.You will want to get rid of it before it becomes a plague.