small hitchiker anemone I.D.s

[jasontk]

I've got these two small anemones that came in on some live rock and I've been pondering for the longest time just what they are.
Here is the first one:

and the second one:

 

[thomas712]

Aptasia the glass anemone.
Not a good thing.

 

[jasontk]

I always thought the red one was too pretty to be an aptasia because the ones I see are always brown. Doh

 

[dubbin1]

Originally posted by Thomas712
Aptasia the glass anemone.
Not a good thing.
What makes them not a good thing?

 

[jasontk]

They spread easily and will sting corals so I've heard.

 

[stapler]

They are a pain in the butt to get rid of, and they will spread like wildfire. They will kill corals, and fish have been killed by them, I have heard.

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by Dubbin1
What makes them not a good thing?
They can literally plauge a tank and over take much of the live rock, when this happens things get stung that you don't want to get stung. They are part of the challange of having a reef tank. The challenge here is to get rid of them without shooting spores all over your tank and having it look like an aptasia farm.
Thomas

 

[stapler]

Just do a search on aptasia....and read the different threads explaining different ways to eliminate this pest.