What is this?
- Thread starter peef
- Start date
steeliathunder
Member
colonial tunicate?
peef
Active Member
It is attached, looks like a coral but also a sponge...like it has what appears to be a mouth for 1. filter feeding or 2. eating as any coral would.
It is growing like CRAZY in the houses for the dolphins I work with. I think it is quite beautiful. The colonial tunicate I would say is a 98% match, but I am not totally sure. What is that?
It is growing like CRAZY in the houses for the dolphins I work with. I think it is quite beautiful. The colonial tunicate I would say is a 98% match, but I am not totally sure. What is that?
steeliathunder
Member
Quoting Ophiura about tunicate "sea squirts":
"Tunicates sometimes turn up on LR. There are two basic forms, a solitary and a colonial. Tunicates are filter feeders and are basically harmless, though they have the potential to overgrow other animals. It is not all that common, however, in tanks. The basic tunicate body plan consists of an incurrent and an outcurrent "siphon." Water is drawn in, passes through a "net" like structure, and then flows out. This is clear in the solitary tunicate shown below, but is a bit harder to see in the colonial tunicate shown. The colonial tunicates each have a separate incurrent siphon, but share an excurrent siphon.
Most feed on very small size particles - bacteria or tiny phytoplankton are thought to be primary sources of nutrition. Due to this limited diet, tunicates may not survive for extended periods in home aquaria. Nonetheless, some colonial forms may grow for a time, reproducing new individuals asexually.
Colonial tunicates especially are often beautifully bright and colorful."
saw it in hitchhiker thread. thought they were cool looking so i remembered it when i saw your pic.
"Tunicates sometimes turn up on LR. There are two basic forms, a solitary and a colonial. Tunicates are filter feeders and are basically harmless, though they have the potential to overgrow other animals. It is not all that common, however, in tanks. The basic tunicate body plan consists of an incurrent and an outcurrent "siphon." Water is drawn in, passes through a "net" like structure, and then flows out. This is clear in the solitary tunicate shown below, but is a bit harder to see in the colonial tunicate shown. The colonial tunicates each have a separate incurrent siphon, but share an excurrent siphon.
Most feed on very small size particles - bacteria or tiny phytoplankton are thought to be primary sources of nutrition. Due to this limited diet, tunicates may not survive for extended periods in home aquaria. Nonetheless, some colonial forms may grow for a time, reproducing new individuals asexually.
Colonial tunicates especially are often beautifully bright and colorful."
saw it in hitchhiker thread. thought they were cool looking so i remembered it when i saw your pic.