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FAQs on Identification of Stinging-Celled Animals 12
Related Articles: Cnidarians,
Water Flow, How Much is Enough,
Related FAQs: Cnidarian
IDs 1, Cnidarian IDs 2,
Cnidarian IDs 3,
Cnidarians ID 4, Cnidarians ID 5,
Cnidarians ID 6,
Cnidarian ID 7, Cnidarian ID 8,
Cnidarian ID 9,
Cnidarian ID 10,
Cnidarian ID 11, Cnidarian ID 13,
Cnidarian ID 14,
Cnidarian ID 15,
Cnidarian ID 16, Cnidarian ID 17,
Cnidarian ID 18,
Cnidarian ID 19, & Anemone ID 1,
Aiptasia ID 1, Stony Coral ID 1,
Mushroom Identification,
Soft Coral ID,
Alcyoniid ID, Xeniid ID,
Cnidarians 1, Cnidarians 2,
Cnidarian Behavior, Cnidarian
Compatibility, Cnidarian Selection,
Cnidarian Systems, Cnidarian Feeding,
Cnidarian Disease, Cnidarian
Reproduction,
Acclimating Symbiotic Reef Invertebrates to Captive Lighting, | 
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Can You Identify This Please… Hydroids – 03/08/08
Hello
<Hi there, Mich here.>
I have a 125-gallon marine tank that has
been up for about 6 months - this is my third tank. Can you please
tell me what the small brown things are - I believe that they are
either a cluster of tiny glass anemone (I haven't been able to find
any pictures on the web of tiny clustered glass anemones but did
read on WetWebMedia that they do come very small)
<Nope.>
or
some sort of tiny cluster feather dusters.
<They are hydroids,
perhaps Myrionema sp. They can be a nuisance and you will need to
wear gloves when removing them as they can deliver a sting.
They
seem to be about 1/4 inch long each. Let me know if the photo is not
good enough and I will get a friend with a better camera to take a
picture. They are so little it is actually difficult to see the
details of them.
<The picture is fine. There also appear to be
worm snails (Petaloconchus spp) in the background, which are
harmless filter feeders, but be careful when moving about them as
they can be quite sharp and easily puncture finger tips.>
I do
know what a normal glass anemone looks like and have had them before
but never this tiny. I did read on the site that the fish will avoid
them and I have not seen any fish stung but they do seem to avoid
them. If these are glass anemones I will try to remove them,
<Hydroids are pests and should be removed.>
my biggest problem
will be that they are on one of the rocks my feather duster is
attached to, which is reasonably close to one of my bubble tip
anemones. Can you suggest the best way to remove these without
damaging the feather duster or the bubble tip anemone assuming it is
tiny glass anemones.
<Well removal can be a bit of a challenge.
If possible, you should remove the rock from the system while you go
about with the removal of these buggers so they are not accidentally
spread. You will likely have to remove the top layer of the rock, as
much as an inch with a chisel or Dremel as these pests can attach
themselves quite deeply in the rock.>
thanks for your help and
for this wonderful resource.
<I am happy to help and I too thank
all who have contributed to this tremendous body of work. I was a
student here before I was a teacher.>
regards Jackie for NZ
<Cheers, Mich from the good ole US of A.> | 
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Tiny pest anemone or some type of polyp? (Picture Included) 3/3/08
Hello WWM crew,
I would first like to say, your site is a treasure
trove of information. Now back on topic, I've noticed lately on one of
my live rock there are about 2
dozen of these tiny things. They look
like polyp, with over 24 tentacles, white brownish in color, retracts a
little when touched, and about a few
millimeters in height. I've been
digging through your website trying to figure out what they are, and I
was hoping there might be a picture, but I
haven't seen one or
probably missed it. So far base on other peoples description, it sound
like Aiptasia, right?
<Mmm, not necessarily... could be Zoanthids,
other types of Polypoid life... Even just juvenile forms... Likely
transient... will go in time>
I've included a picture which has a
pair of them near the upper center of the photo.
Thanks,
Kent
<I see them... but need more detail than these show. You can work your
way through the description of the major Cnidarian groups here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidaria.htm
Thanks for sending this along.
Bob Fenner> | 
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ID please -02/29/08
Please see attached. I can't tell what it is,
but hopefully someone can. :)
<I'll try!>
Grows very tree like and
on top of a colony of some palys. The 'polyps' withdraws into itself and
tips becomes a whitish color (like the ones up the top of the picture).
When they're open, they resemble zoas/palys, with a green center.
http://ericdo.com/pictures/Starfire%207.2.07/unknown_soft_022708.jpg
<Wow, that's certainly something different. Is there any chance you
could get a close up of the open and closed polyps?>
Please let me
know if you guys can ID it.
<To be honest, I'm not even entirely sure
it's even a coral... but maybe some type of hydroid? More pictures will
help.>
Many thanks,
Eric
<Best,
Sara M.>
ID please -hydroids 02/29/08
<Eric-
Just following up... I
asked one of my friends who is more of a marine invert ID expert and he
agrees with my guess that it's a hydroid of some sort. But more
importantly, he was able to explain a bit of why he thinks so. The tubes
are brown and translucent which suggests they're proteinaceous, not
calcium carbonate. That means it's not a coral. And neither of us can
think of anything else (except a hydroid) that would have branching
proteinaceous tubes (and have polyps) like this thing has. Hydroids are
extremely difficult to ID, but if I can narrow it down more at all, I'll
let you know. :-)
Best,
Sara M.> | 
Outstanding. RMF.
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Need Help With An ID No One Knows In My Reef Forum 2/24/08
<Hi Jim, Mich here.>
I bought snails from the LFS and on 1 of the
shells was this aiptasia looking thing, that's what I assumed until
it released itself and started swimming. It swims like a octopus
flailing its tentacles I've posted on a reef forum and looked all
over the Internet researching this thing but have come up with
nothing. Any help would be appreciated.
<Looks like a hydroid
jellyfish to me. More here:
http://www.ronshimek.com/Animal%20Groups%203%20Cnidarians.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/jellyidfaqs.htm >
I do have it in a
catch bucket but was wondering if it’s safe to put it in my reef.
<Likely wouldn't hurt. Populations tend to wax and wane. Is
interesting to observer for sure.>
Thank you for any help you can
give me.
<Hope this helps. Mich>
Jim | 
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Identification question 2/23/08
Hi you guys have great info
here. I was curious if there was anyone there who can ID these things in
my tank.
<Mmm, are Corallimorphs. Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/corallim.htm
and the linked files above>
They look like some sort of mushroom. Several have come off the rock
they were initially growing on. Where they had been attached has a hard
stony reminder. The ones that have come off are living happily on the
bottom of my tank. These can blow up to quite a large size, 5-6 inches
across and 1.5 inches "tall", or expel their water and get down to being
just 1-1.5 inches across and maybe 1/4 inch tall when fully compressed.
One pic is taken under actinic lighting and the other is under white
light.
<Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Bob Fenner> |  These
are actually anthocauli, i.e. baby Fungia -Sara M.
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LR Critter ID 2/18/08
Hi all,
Thanks for putting together
such a great site. I can spend hour upon hour sifting through all
the great data. The wife is threatening to limit my time on WWM.
<I have recently "found" your message delinquently here... Will
respond>
I need help identifying this little critter that
hitchhiked in on some live rock (see attached photo. Its not the
best quality. It's harder than I thought to get a nice clean
picture). Its about a quarter of an inch tall by 3/16 diameter cream
colored stalk topped with a group of white/translucent balls at the
end.
<Yes... some sort of polypoid, Cnidarian animal>
Its
growing in a shaded area of the rock. Originally, this little guy
hung around about a month after I cured the rock then receded to
barely visible nub. I figured that it was a critter that couldn't
survive in the tank and didn't think about it much. However, it has
now grown, receded back a nub and grown back again 3 more times over
the last 5 months. Since it seems rather tenacious, I would like to
see if I can provide better for its needs.
Any ideas or pointers
to it's identity would be greatly appreciated?
Thanks in advance.
Dave
<Might be an anemone... perhaps a Zoanthid... to some
degree photosynthetic maybe... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnididfaqs.htm
and the linked files above
and where you find them in text... till you find enough information
to satisfy you. Bob Fenner> | 
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Help with ID please 2/8/08
Hiya....Its Andrew by the way...from
here on WWM...
<Hello Andrew. Nice to see you from "the other side">
Would it be possible for anybody to ID the pointed out in the attached
picture please...A friend has asked myself, and I do not know...learning
time for me I guess...
Thanks ladies and gents..
Andrew
<Mmm... interesting. My best guess is that this may be a sea pen of some
sort... does the "head" ever open up? If so, would you have an image,
close-up of this sent along? Cheers, Bob Fenner> | 
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Ricordea under a rock ledge... Maybe Majanos 2/5/08
Hi All,
I love your website! I have learned so much from it along
with the book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist".
<Hello and thanks!
Bob's book is great isn't it?!>
I recently acquired a 55 gallon reef
tank set up with LR and LS. It was covered with green hair algae that
has now died off (amazing what decent water will do). OMG the things
that are now appearing on the rocks! I have discovered 3 Ricordea under
a ledge of the biggest rock and completely in shadow about 2-3 inches
above the substrate. Will they move to seek the light or should I try to
move them? If I need to move them, how should I go about doing it? Due
to the angle, I can't get a chisel in there to get them on a chunk of
rock.
Thanks so much in advance. These are very pretty bright green
little guys I really want to help out.
Peg
<Peg, Ricordea don't
usually just pop out on rocks. However, Majano Anemones do. Here is some
FAQ's...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemoniafaqs.htm
These types
of anemones pack a big sting and are not very well liked by aquarist as
they sting and kill corals. Google "Majano Anemone Pics" and see if they
are the same ones you have. HTH, Rich...aka...Mr. Firemouth>
Re: Ricordea under a rock ledge 2/8/08
Thanks, Rich
(Mr. Firemouth? Surely there's a story to that alias)
<I love to
breed Firemouth Cichlids.>
I've read all areas on your website and
looked at pictures on the web. It doesn't look like any I've seen: no
pedicle, lies flat and no bubble tips. Still it must be a Majano of some
sort. I just got a Ricordea Yuma and they sure look alike in structure.
<It could be possible that it is a juvenile Rhodactis Mushroom Coral
from the Tonga area. They would have the Yuma Ricordea
appearance/structures.>
I'm going to go with Anthony's response to
"Pest Anemone" on 2/14/03, pretend they're not a pest and try to keep
the pretty little guys from multiplying.
<To help prevent rapid
spreading of a pest anemone while keeping it in the system, you can take
the rock it is on and make an island away from the main liverock
structure. These anemones spread in close proximity of each other and
can be concentrated on one rock by keeping the rock isolated. Many times
these majano type anemones tear their "foot" while moving and create a
new anemone. This is known as petal laceration. Another thing they do is
divide. They "split" into 2 separate pieces. Therefore, it is much
harder for them to spread all over if they are isolated. A picture of
the anemone would help. Good luck and happy reefing!-Rich>
Thanks
again,
Peg
Re: Ricordea under a rock ledge 2-14-08
Hi,
I'm sorry
for the delay in responding. I did not have much (OK any) success with
my attempts to photograph the "thing". I finally found a
picture on
the web and it looks just like mine, it is labeled as a green Ricordea.
I dug out my dive camera, but need new batteries. I will keep trying.
Thanks again,
Peg
<After reviewing the pic provided it does look
like Ricordea floridae. Here is a link with more info...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallim.htm
<<Image not placed as it
is others property. RMF>> |
ID help, please 2/5/08
Hey Crew,
<Andy>
Presently
curing a batch of live rock pending setting up my tank in March, and
came across these on a small piece of rubble; not a great picture, I
know, but any thoughts you might have are much appreciated. I¹ve
searched all of the sponge and anemone ID pages, and I¹m not having
any luck.
I don¹t THINK they¹re Aiptasia, but I¹m a relatively
new to the hobby haven¹t seen all of the variants of that pest. What
do you think, friend or foe?
Thanks,
Andy
<The larger
batch of stalked polyps at top? Please see here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/zoidfaq2.htm
and the linked files above.
Bob Fenner> Re: ID
help, please 2/5/08
Thanks, Bob. Yeah, they do
resemble the Palythoa, with one row of 6-8 tentacles. I thought I
read that the Zoas are toxic,
<Are, to many organisms...
including humans>
but my hermit crab seemed to enjoy them as a
snack... twice. Looks like they’re easy to care for, as well. I’ll
keep looking to see if I can classify them more accurately. Thanks!
Andy
<A closer-up pic please. BobF> | 
Re: ID help, please 2/5/08
Bob (or crew),
<Andy>
Here¹s a little better picture, not much, but such are the
limitations of my little digital camera. This is certainly a
truer color. A friend suggested these might be Green Star
Polyps.
<Does appear to be a Clavulariid>
Thanks again,
Andy
<BobF> |
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