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FAQs on Identification of Stinging-Celled Animals 4
Related Articles: Cnidarians,
Water Flow, How Much is Enough,
Related FAQs: Cnidarian
IDs 1, Cnidarian IDs 2,
Cnidarian IDs 3,
Cnidarians ID 5,
Cnidarians ID 6, Cnidarian ID 7,
Cnidarian ID 8, Cnidarian ID 9,
Cnidarian ID 10, Cnidarian ID 11,
Cnidarian ID 12, 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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Baby jellies... or some other creature? 1/4/06
Hi crew,
<Chris>
Sheesh. I had to get creative to photograph these
critters. I snagged one with an eyedropper, placed it in a water
drop on
a slide, and popped it into my $20 National Geographic
'scope. After removing the eyepiece shield, I was able to snap a few
photos of reasonable enough quality for ID purposes... I hope.
<Neat>
These pics are slightly out of focus, but the best I
could get and still get the whole thing. (‘scope/lens/user?
limitations)
I've seen some dozens of these, over the past few
days, in my 55G saltwater tank. I'm seeing fewer lately, due to
losses in
my power heads and/or filtration, I suppose. (Or
predation?)
<A combo. no doubt>
I didn’t notice them today,
until swishing around my LR with a turkey baster... blowing off some
food that had “settled”.
(Perhaps these had “settled” too... and
I stirred them up?)
<Likely so>
Anyhow, they look for all
the world like mini-jellyfish of some sort, though I couldn't
imagine from whence they came. My only
recent addition is a 6"
ball of Caulerpa Racemosa from my QT.
(Note that this QT also
contains assorted amphipods, worms, and other tiny marine life that
has accumulated over time)
The Caulerpa had been in the QT for
three weeks.
<Mmm, are some sort of medusoid life>
Most are
about the size of this period. (Some are a bit larger)
The
photos show the rest of my observation. At "rest", they’re full of
water, their "valve" is closed, and you can see a few
small
protrusions between the two dark spots at the valve end. To move,
they appear to expel water through the “valve”, and
they
contract axially, while extending longitudinally.
(Moving away
from the “valve” end, of course)
<Yes>
Enough of my
rambling, I suppose. Please edit and ditch any irrelevant babbling
as you see fit. I won’t mind.
Do these look like anything you’ve
seen before?
<Mmm, yes... juvenile "jellies" of some sort
(Scyphozoans, Hydrozoans) or ctenophorans...>
Feel free to whack
me in the head with a book of your choice, if these are something
very common that I should’ve found on
a simple web search. (I
looked, but perhaps not hard enough) Tell me if you need more info,
tank specs/inhabitants, etc...
Thanks in advance,
Chris
<I wouldn't be overly concerned re these being in your system...
likely "strobilized" from the new algae... or some other substrate.
Will pass with time. Bob Fenner> |  
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Hydroids? Aiptasia? Majano? Help! - 12/05/05
I have these little
polyps spreading all over my live rock. They don't look like Aiptasia as
their tentacles have "feathers". I think they may be some type of
hydroid.
<<A possibility...but they may also be Majano anemones.>>
They sting everything and peppermint shrimp won't eat them (as of yet).
Joe's Juice isn't effective either (they shrivel up only to open back up
a day or two later). Can you please help me identify them and tell me
how to get rid of them.
<<Have a peruse through our FAQs starting
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemoniafaqs.htm>>
They are not
attached at the base and I've never seen one divide yet they spread like
wild fire. They sting Xenia (and kill it) and everything else they come
in contact with. You can see them in the pic to the right of the Xenia.
Sorry for the size of this picture but it's hard to get a small one of
them that you can actually see them in.
<<There was no picture with
the email.>>
Any identification help and advice on how to get rid of
them will be MUCH appreciated. I'd like to find a predator for them.
They don't seem to need much (if any) light so they are hard to access
(hide in small dark crevices).
<<These anemones can quickly multiply
to plague proportions. Do have a look in the FAQs, much info/help
there.>>
Thanks
<<Regards, EricR>>
Susan's Cnidarian Identification - Per James via Marina 12/5/05
Thanks! I didn't want to clog your inbox with them... I'm so
interested to find out what you think. -Susan
<<Susan, I've had
some other crewmembers take a look at the photos, and this is what
James has to say:
"Marina,
Looked in your folder at the
pic. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a very small rock anemone.
Regards, James"
So, there you have it, he's guessing rock
anemone (though that second shot, are its tentacles fully extended
there?). In any event, it looks like a pretty, and honestly, unless
it's causing you problems I'd just enjoy it. Marina>> | 
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Polypoid ID
9/28/05
Hello Crew,
<Ed>
Does anybody know what these
little bugs might be?
<Mmm, some sort of Cnidarian... a
polyp-animal of some species>
I have done some research on
your site and others. Doesn't really look like any of the
pictures of copepods or amphipods. They are reproducing rapidly in
my
tank. My tank is currently cycling, I just put the live rock
in two and
a half weeks ago. Thank you,
ED
<Not to
worry... these too shall pass... Enjoy them while they're there. Bob
Fenner> | 
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Quick ID Pleeeeease!
Dear Crew,
If you will, please ID
this hitchhiker anemone for me so that I may take proper care. He does
eat any and everything I feed him. If you can ID, how big might I expect
him to get? Will he be a good host anemone?
Thank you
Mark
<Mmm, actually... this looks more like a single-polyped stony coral to
me... can you make out a calcified skeleton within this animal? At any
length it is a Anthozoan, and likely to some degree photosynthetic... I
would enjoy it! Bob Fenner> | 
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Invert id 9/5/05
Hey guys.. quick question.. I was searching the
coral i.d.
<Not a coral...>
and could not find
this coral
I now have in my tank due to a friend of mine moving, could you
please tell me what it is?...
<Please see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallim.htm
and the linked files at
top>
thanks (pic attached) also I just finished placing
my
xenias, flower pot feather duster and leather (toadstool) around my
tank... could you take a look at my pic and tell me if they are placed
ok?
<Not shown... but there are placement, Compatibility files on
all these on WWM...>
the feather duster is kind of touching the
pulsing xenia, and suggestion from such a
fine crew is Always
appreciated!
Thanks
Paul
<Read my friend... read. Bob
Fenner> | 
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Coral ID 9.2.05
Dear Bob and Company,
<Howdy>
First off
BIG fan of the site, keep up the great work.
<A tall order with a
skeleton crew of volunteers on a ever-growing website... more
volunteers, anyone? <G>>
Now to the question. I can't identify this
particular coral I have received. It was given
to me, so I can't
complain but I’m stumped. It is similar looking to a pipe organ polyp,
in that it has
a long stems, but not of the eight tentacle
variety. It can fully retract into its rock, and this
particular
piece has about 50-70 individual polyps. Each polyp center is about an
eighth of
an inch in size, with a half inch to an inch-plus stem
length. Each polyp has 16-20 small tentacles about 5
mm thick by
one-sixteenth inch in length. The stems and polyps are
greenish-brown and the
tentacles, and centers, on the polyps are
light green. This is under 2*65w actinic and 2*65w
50/50-10k compact
florescent bulbs. I hope this is descript enough,
<Without a
close/clear picture... this is a pot-shot at best. Furthermore, I'm
concerned if you are buying
corals and other animals, but don't have
a basic photo ID/husbandry book to refer to. Do seek Fabricius and
Alderslade for soft corals (2001) and Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" for
general coral keeping>
I don’t have a camera or else I would include
a picture. If you know what it is and have any advice
as to
placement, water movement, light requirements, feeding, etc. That would
be greatly appreciated.
Rock On, Jonathan
<you mention Tubipora
as comparable, and I wonder if you are mistaking that soft coral (organ
pipe) as a
hard coral? If so, that would explain the lack of tubes,
despite being compared to a Tubiporidae (you
state the tentacles are
fully retractile). If that's so... I'm then wondering if the animal is
stony? Do
polyps retract into stony calices? I'll take a random
guess here and say that you have an encrusted patch of
Goniopora. Do
use the google image tool to find examples. Else a picture when you can,
mate. Anthony>
Hydroids
to Flatworms
Hi Guys,
I have a cluster of little brown
pom-pom like things in my reef.
Using the google search on your
site, I found out that they are "a
fairly common nuisance
hydroid, Myrionema".
My question was answered.
<Good>
While I was on the Hydrozoans FAQ page I noticed a posting titled
"Stranded Hydroid! Yikes! 4/7/05".
Your staff answered the
question and identified the animal as a
hydroid. I had similar
things in my tank growing on a finger leather
coral.
It
turned out to be some kind of flatworm. It had the same tentacles in
the posted picture. The worm would release the tentacle into the
current
and pull it back repeatedly.
<Strange,
interesting... have not heard of, seen this offered re flatworm
behavior ever>
The worms are very clear, so they almost
disappear when they are spread
out over the surface of the coral
which makes it seem that the tentacle
is coming from the coral
itself.
<Good plan, eh?>
I used Salifert Flatworm Exit in a
bag of tank water and dipped the
coral in it. After
approximately 45 minutes the flatworm came off by
creating a
current in the bag with my finger. It was a clear, slightly
cloudy flatworm. Even sitting on the bottom of the bag, it released
the
tentacle and pulled it back. The tentacle was a long single
strand which
had smaller lines coming off one side. I actually
got a few of them
using the dip. Each worm only had one strand -
so if you see more than
one - chances are that there are several
worms.
Great Site.
<Thank you for this input. Will try to
find the bit you reference and couple it with yours here>
Dave
Here was the full post from the FAQ:
Stranded Hydroid! Yikes!
4/7/05
Hello WWM Crew,
<howdy>
I have a quick
question for you regarding a finger leather and a
strange set of
tentacles coming from it.
<yikes! they are not from the leather,
but instead are from a stinging
hydroid. They can be quite
aggressive to other reef creatures and even
burn your skin
painfully>
I have attached a picture of identical tentacles as
what are coming
from my leather but am unsure of how to
deal
with this issue.
<manual removal>
I have only had the
leather for 3 weeks now and it
has never extended a single
polyp.
<Perhaps it's irritated from the hydroid. More
importantly... I fear
you have added this coral to your tank
without a proper quarantine
period. Yikes, if so... it's a
surefire way to introduce pests and
predators to your tank like
this hydroid>
Every evening these threads come out and they are
very intricate which
is what led me to believe they were not
just mucous. I cannot see
anything on the leather itself by
following the threads but there are 6
or 7 coming out. Any help
you can
give me would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Scott B.
<There are many types of hydroids in the world. Some look like
corals... some look like algae... others more like jellyfish.
Caution
with all :) Anthony> | 
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Hydroids... hydrozoan: what's in a name? 6/21/05
Ah, yes...
understood. It really does look like a
flatworm. Not so though.
Its a ctenophore... benthic sort of "hydroid" or
"jelly" (not
the same, but kin).
In the hobby... we have been calling the
thing that I
think you are seeing (a unique description...
really
sounds like it) "a hydroid" for lack of a better
understanding/term.
Pics of one of my own attached - its being
scraped
from the underside of a Fungiid.
And... a link to a
quick mention of the lil buggers
here:
http://www.seaslugforum.net/display.cfm?id=12274
Anthony :) |
What is this? 7/4/05
Hello Everyone,
<Hi there>
Happy
4th! Can anyone identify what is growing all over this plastic
plant (pic attached)? They look like "pearl onions" or small white
sacks tied at the top, attached at their base and the only place I
have found them are on this single plastic plant. They seem to have
appeared overnight or within the last day or so as my wife and I
take a good look at our tank every day to make sure the fish are
doing well, any upside down snails etc. and have not noticed this
until today. Are they O.K. or should they be removed? Any help
would be greatly appreciated.
<Leave them... look like some sort
of polypoid life... Any chance of a close-up pic?>
150 gal, 175
pounds live rock, 50 gal sump/refugium, spg 1.024, ph 8.2, Nitrite
0, Nitrate 10, Ca 385 ppm, Alk 9 dKH
<Bob Fenner> | 
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