Another coral question....

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

So I was watching one of my corals and noticed these little things on the side. They were opening and closing, but it won’t let me post the video. Not sure if you can tell much from the pictures. Are they the beginning of new heads or something I should be concerned about? The coral has been in my tank for a few weeks and there was nothing there originally.

Brad Miller · Feb 19, 2019

Looks like aiptasia to me

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

Brad Miller said:
Looks like aiptasia to me

That’s a pest, right?

BestMomEver · Feb 19, 2019

Looks like a little aptasia. Grab you a peppermint shrimp or a bottle of AptasiaX.

BestMomEver · Feb 19, 2019

Bleigh said:
That’s a pest, right?

Yep.... type of anemone with a potent sting.

Mykesocalreef · Feb 19, 2019

The one to the right could also be a feather duster.

Brad Miller · Feb 19, 2019

Some raise them but most don't want them as they will overtake your tank.
Don't try to pick them out, they will spread like a disease.
Easiest way to get rid of them is to use a hyperdermic needle and inject lemon juice into their stem.
It's tough because they will close up very fast as you come near them with anything

leroy_jenkinz · Feb 19, 2019

If your frag plug isn’t glued to anything I would just take it out the tank, and scrape them off. Much easier and who knows if the shrimp will go after them ( never a guarantee) and the chemical has a chance of making it mad and spreading as a defensive technique

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

Mykesocalreef said:
The one to the right could also be a feather duster.

What’s a feather duster and is that something I’d like to keep?

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

leroy_jenkinz said:
If your frag plug isn’t glued to anything I would just take it out the tank, and scrape them off. Much easier and who knows if the shrimp will go after them ( never a guarantee) and the chemical has a chance of making it mad and spreading as a defensive technique

I think that frag was just just wedged between rocks. So I suspect I’ll be able to take it out. It’s super tiny. I barely noticed it. Once I saw it, I realized there were a few other opening and closing mouth type things there.

Mykesocalreef · Feb 19, 2019

Bleigh said:
What’s a feather duster and is that something I’d like to keep?

If it is a feather duster they are harmless. I have the soft tubed type in my tank and there are probably hundreds. They float around and attach to everything.

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

Brad Miller said:
Some raise them but most don't want them as they will overtake your tank.
Don't try to pick them out, they will spread like a disease.
Easiest way to get rid of them is to use a hyperdermic needle and inject lemon juice into their stem.
It's tough because they will close up very fast as you come near them with anything

Would I be better off doing the lemon juice and hyperdermic needle outside of the tank? Then if it does release eggs anyway, it’s not in the tank.

What’s the chances that there are already more in my tank that I haven’t noticed?

Mastiffsrule · Feb 19, 2019

Mykesocalreef said:
The one to the right could also be a feather duster.

I was thinking the same thing on the small one to the right. The other does appear to be aptasia. I like feather duster/tube worms. Some can be really colorful

Just remembered my favorite the Christmas tree- can’t attach a pix of one of those for some reason

Bleigh · Feb 19, 2019

Mastiffsrule said:
I was thinking the same thing on the small one to the right. The other does appear to be aptasia. I like feather duster/tube worms. Some can be really colorful

Will the lemon juice kill the feather duster?

Mikedawg · Feb 19, 2019

Bleigh said:
Would I be better off doing the lemon juice and hyperdermic needle outside of the tank? Then if it does release eggs anyway, it’s not in the tank.

What’s the chances that there are already more in my tank that I haven’t noticed?

If you have noticed these, you probably have more. As others have said above it is best to remove Acan and treat outside of tank. I have had good success with an ORA filefish eradicating aiptasia, plus I like the unique look and habits of the fish itself and my experience is that other, more aggressive fish leave it alone. Good luck

FishyDP · Feb 19, 2019

Yes, some type of pest anemone in the middle. A dab of super glue gel over its hole could do the trick. Also agree maybe a feather duster on the right..they are filter feeders and harmless. Some even look nice and get quite large.

Hemmdog · Feb 19, 2019

Bleigh said:
Will the lemon juice kill the feather duster?

Not sure, but if you have some mysis that coral is down for some food lol.

Bleigh · Feb 20, 2019

Mikedawg said:
If you have noticed these, you probably have more. As others have said above it is best to remove Acan and treat outside of tank. I have had good success with an ORA filefish eradicating aiptasia, plus I like the unique look and habits of the fish itself and my experience is that other, more aggressive fish leave it alone. Good luck

I’m fairly certain they have some of these at my lfs. I’ll have to look next time I’m in there.

Bleigh · Feb 20, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Not sure, but if you have some mysis that coral is down for some food lol.

I’ve been trying to spot feed mysis. But I did go grab some coral food today and gave them all some. They all grabbed it pretty quickly. Thanks for pointing it out.

Mikedawg · Feb 20, 2019

Bleigh said:
I’m fairly certain they have some of these at my lfs. I’ll have to look next time I’m in there.

I've read that getting the "right" file fish, one that relishes aiptasia, is a 50/50 proposition; mine jumped on those little anemones like a duck on a june bug as we say around here. Good luck