Is this Aptasia?

tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
I bought this small rock with Yellow Polyps about a month ago. I just noticed a greenish looking somthing hiding in the middle. You can see it right in the middle of the picture.
Is that Aptasia? I have been fortunate enough to never have had any before, so I am not sure. If it is, can I just scrape it off the rock? It is a very small rock and I can remove it easily.
 
waterdog

waterdog

Member
Congratualtions on never having the scurge of the home aquarium. I wish all of us could be that lucky. Lucky for you it really doesn't look like aptaisa to me. At least not like any that I have seen. It other more experienced people on this board tell you that it is, then DO NOT scrape it off!!! This will cause it to replicate a billion and one times all over your tank. If you want to get rid of it, mix a kalkwasser paste in some VERY hot water. Put the paste in a syringe and stab it into the B******. this will cause him to shrivel and die. That's just for future reference though because I don't think that you have one.
Best of luck :D
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
T99,
It does not look like it to me. However if you want to be safe you can blast it with the kalk mix. If you do it right you will not get any of your other polyps.
Scott
 
spsfreak100

spsfreak100

Active Member
Tangman,
I agree with the others, it's not an Aiptasia. It could possibly be a species of zooanthid?
gogirl,
Kalkwasser (or as others call it, Calcium Hydroxide) can be made into a paste form by mixing kalkwasser and tank water. The Calcium Hydroxide should then turn into a thick paste. It can then be enjected into the central mouth of the aiptasia. The aiptaisa, if injected properly, will usually melt away.
Graham
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
Alright guys, I have to ask one more time before I nuke this darn thing. I had read in another thread that if you touch it and it retreats, then it is probably aptasia.
I touched this thing with a end of my prongs and it pulled inside immediately. The yellow polyps do not do that.
Some of you are probably laughing at me now, but I don't want to nuke an innocent victim. Being it retracted, does that mean it is a bad thing and I must kill it immediately?
Thanks.
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member

Originally posted by SPSfreak100
Is there any way to get a closer picture of the "polyp?"
Graham
This is about as good as I can get. It is about the size of a pencil eraser. It is just coming back out after it went in when I moved the rock to get the picture.
 
spsfreak100

spsfreak100

Active Member
That's quite a clear picture, Tangman! :)
Unfortunatly, I wouldn't want to miss judge anything and give you incorrect advice about what it is. I know it doesn't have the usual coloration of Aiptasia, nor does it have the apearence of Anemonia majano.
Does it appear to have the ability to move around the aquarium?
Graham
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
Graham,
I've been watching this little sucker for several days now. It has not moved around at all. As I mentioned, if I touch it,, it will pull back inside of itself. I can't tell if it is stinging the yellow polyps as they are not within it's reach. It just looks strange to me.
I don't want to kill it unless I'm sure, but then again I don't want to start seeing others either.
 
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