What is this?

prohopper

prohopper

Member
Just got some liverock and began cycling my tank. Noticed quite a few of these on my rock. I took a pic of the biggest one I could find.
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
Appears to be a polyp. Now weather it's a coral or anemone polyp- I cant tell from the pic. if it's anemone it could be aiptasia. if it's a coral polyp - likely a button polyp.....
If you reach in with a pencil and just touch it slightly - what does it do? just close up and retract a little - or does it almost totally disappear??
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
My guess is some sort of coral polyp - possibly in the palythoa sp. - or protopalythoa... The behavior when touched fits, and when closed it looks like one...How many u got, and are there any "groups' of them?? these types will usually grow in groups or even form mats of polyps...
 
prohopper

prohopper

Member
I counted about 8 of them total. On that specific piece of liverock there is only 1 but on another piece there are 7 more. They all look very similar to that with the exception of the size. Since i got all the rock from the same place I imagine that they all could be the same. Are these bad in any way?
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
We'll have to make a more positive ID to know good, bad, or ugly....If u can, move the rock with the big one next to the glass side, with the "thing" closer to the glass and try to get a really good pic of it with some light on it....If it is a paly or protopaly, it should be identified to determine what it's gonna do...casue they are all kinda agressive, but some are very fast growing, while others grow very slow...
Also if it is a paly (protopaly) you should be aware of the dangers of palytoxin - a substance that is released by some of these corals, and is more toxic than about anything made by man: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thread/383694/palytoxin-experience-and-cautions#post_3357953
so if they need to be removed - hide the pets, wear goggles/gloves, and dispose of or stearlize anything that comes into contact with these creatures.
 
prohopper

prohopper

Member
Wow i just read that link you posted. Crazy crazy stuff. Anyways I just took the best picture I could of this. Hopefully you will be able to see it in better detail. As you can see there is a smaller one of what appears to be the same thing up and to the right of it.
 
saltycheese

saltycheese

New Member
Harmless IMO
I had a couple of these once upon a time. They like lots of light and flow, once your tank cycles their color will return and they will fill out.
 
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