ID, pretty please...

[simsimbalabim]

Got this zoo today and it has some stange thing attached to it. It's kinda squishy to the touch, but it doesn't retract or move when I touch it. Any ideas? (Please don't be a parasite!)

 

[fmelindy]

boy that's strange looking isn't it? Egg mass perhaps? Cleverly disguised nudibranch? (does it move?) Perhaps it's a colonial tunicate? (I don't know how big those get). Definitely doesn't look like a coral... :notsure:

 

[simsimbalabim]

Here's a pic of the other side. It's on the rock also (circled). If it's a nudi, it's not moving.

 

[simsimbalabim]

Oops...here we go...

 

[speg]

It looks like a worm.

 

[ophiura]

Looka like it may be a colonial tunicate, IMO.

 

[simsimbalabim]

You might be right, Ophiura. Zooming in, I can see what looks like siphon tubes. So what do I do with it if it is?

 

[ophiura]

Fmelindy gets the prize for first call!!

I believe that is what they are. Most, I would say, or more likely to die out over time. But if they do become an issue I would probably just scrape them off the zoanthids. Otherwise they are pretty harmless and cool (pretty) things :yes:

 

[yosemite sam]

I had a big group of colonial tunicates growing with some zoos and there weren't any problems. Tunicates are filter feeders, so they shouldn't bother the polyps you have.
By the way, that isn't a red flatworm in the upper right of the last picture, is it? Just making sure you don't have another, less cool hitch hiker.... :thinking:

 

[ophiura]

Hey Yosemite.....I don't have much experience actually seeing these flatworms in person. But if you look at the first picture, are some of those spots the unwanted beast?

 

[yosemite sam]

Good eye, Ophiura!!! I didn't even notice them in that picture. Yeah, there do apear to be a bunch of the little buggers on the coral. Simsimbalabim, before you put that coral in the tank, check it out and make sure those aren't flatworms, and if they are, get some tweezers or a brush or something and pluck those suckers off.

 

[bigarn]

WOW, you guys are good ..... I don't see any of them in the first picture. " Note to self... call eye doctor."

 

[ophiura]

Heck, I didn't notice a THING until Yosemite pointed it out. Then I looked at the first picture and said something along the lines of:
:scared:

 

[simsimbalabim]

AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Gotta go!

 

[ophiura]

simsim (excuse the abbreviation - but if I tried for the whole thing it might be worse),
Those are some nice photos (specifically of the tunicates ) - might I use one or two for our hitch hiker ID thread?

 

[simsimbalabim]

Stupid, sons-of-you-know-whats!!! Thanks, Yosemite! Got so focused on the tunicate, I forgot to even look for the little buggers! I HATE THOSE THINGS!!!
Look at all 'em....going on a liitle trip to water treatment plant. Bye-bye!
Any pic I put up is anyone's for the using---no need to ask (thanks,though).

 

[yosemite sam]

Whew, that was close. I'm glad you found them. I got some a few months ago on a frag that I didn't check very well and they went crazy in my tank, which is why that one in the picture stood out to me. It took forever to get rid of them, so hopefully now you won't have the same problem. I hate those little buggers.