Help with identification...

[pegasus]

I'm new to the forum, and fairly new to the marine hobby. It's been quite a journey! One day at *****, I spotted this creature laying in the back of one of the tanks. I thought it was a frilly mushroom, and apparently the salesman did too. He couldn't find the SKU for it, so he tossed it in with the rest of my purchases. (F-R-E-E!) After getting home with it, I discovered it had a foot like an anemone. I removed it from the infested pebble, planted it on the rock to it's left in the pics, and it has moved to it's current spot. I'm leaning towards maxi-mini anemone, but not sure how big those get. This one's about 3" across when expanded. Any ideas?

 

[bang guy]

If I were to guess I would say stichodactyla tapetum or a very close relative.

 

[pegasus]

Thanks for the reply, BG. There seems to be a multitude of variations to the stichodactyla tapetum, but mine appears to have all the classic characteristics. Cool! It's sweet to score such a nice specimen for free. On a previous trip to *****, I bought a Hawaiian Feather Duster, and since it had two more attached, I got the triplets for the price of one. Wait... it gets better! Also attached to the Dusters was a lavender mushroom. Another freebie... lol! Now if I can only score some SPS's and LPS's at *****, I'll be set!

 

[bang guy]

Feed it something really meatylike a piece of Silverside or some other seafood. See if it's SUPER sticky (not with your fingers). Mini-Carpets tend to stick to just about anything. If it's not sticky then perhaps it's a Bullseye Mushroom, also a really cool bonus.

 

[pegasus]

I feed it table shrimp once or twice a week. The shrimp sticks to it like glue, and it closes up on it fairly quickly. It's oral disc never protrudes like mushrooms do on (most) occasions... it's always fairly flat. Mini carpet?

 

[bang guy]

Yeah, I'll stick with the Carpet Anemone ID.

 

[pegasus]

Thanks, BG. I just got through browsing some mini and maxi mini carpets. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the pictures to show the deep, vibrant colors. Although mine isn't as colorful as many that I've seen, these pictures don't do it justice. May be time to upgrade from the old XS30IS...