Baby Coral?

[terraaimee]

I just set up my first saltwater tank about 5 weeks ago. I have 8 pieces of live rock in my tank from a buddy of mine. When I got them, they didnt have anything on them. And now this one rock has these little white flower things poking out of it. Im attaching a picture, but you can barely make them out. They are white with a small stem and lots of little hairs sticking out the top of them. Pretty much, I just would like to know if this is something harmful or possibly a coral.

 

[monalisa]

The pics are really hard to make out, but my guess would be that they're tiny featherdusters. If that's the case, enjoy them while they last. I bought a piece of LF that ended up with about 2 dozen of the little critters on them. That was quite a while ago...
Since then, I've placed other rocks in my tank and had to sacrifice the little guys...we had one name "willie".
Enjoy...
Lisa :happyfish

 

[anonome]

Pics are really blurry. However, if they are on a tiny stalk with white/grey feathery daisy like flowers, then yes they are feather dusters.They usually only stay this small and will not hurt anything. They are a filter feeder. No intentional food is needed for them. That usually tells us that your tank is maturing very well. Good Job!!! :cheer:

 

[michaeltx]

do they look like minitures of these guys. I had so many the took to the sand bed in my tank.
mike

 

[tizzo]

Zit look like any of these?? If not, do a search for aiptasia, just to be sure...

 

[tizzo]

Michael beat me to it...

 

[michaeltx]

he he but they are all different examples those are some kewl lookin dusters though,.
Mike

 

[terraaimee]

Yeah, they look exactly like those, except really really small. There are about 2-3 dozen of them also. How long does it take for them to get a little bigger? I just noticed them yesterday, so I dont know how long its been since they popped up.

 

[1journeyman]

If they are miniature Dusters they should replicate quickly. Be aware though that many fish find them very tasty so as you stock your tank their numbers will probably disappear.

 

[terraaimee]

Well, now that Im looking at these aiptasia pictures, It kind of resembles the white colored one's too. It says on these web sites that they spread really fast, so maybe that's why I have so many of them...Should I wait and see what they are or just get a peppermint shrimp just in case?

 

[anonome]

Can you try to get a better picture for us? Don't worry just yet.

 

[terraaimee]

Ok. Im working on it, but it might be a minute, my camera's having a hard time focusing on them.

 

[royalgamma]

just move the rock closer to the front of the tank and it should be easier to take the pic.

 

[terraaimee]

Ok. Sorry it took so long, but heres some better pictures of them. They are still kind of blurry, but you can see their little stems and little flower like hairs on top.

 

[terraaimee]

Well, I finally figured all this stuff out. The "baby corals" ended up being Aiptasia. I went and bought a peppermint shrimp from my LFS and he took care of the problem in about a week. Tank looks great and the shrimp has gotten bigger since then. Thanks for everyones help