Critter ID Help

[Jerry Gunn]

I found 2 of these attached to an artificial plant. Its alive and attaches by the small end. The round balls go all the way to the base in channels.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Wicked! I've never seen something like this. Following along for the answer

 

[CasaReefer]

Wicked! I've never seen something like this. Following along for the answer

I Wanna Come...

 

[CasaReefer]

#reefsqaud @ReefSquad..

 

[Gareth elliott]

Do the balls inside have independent movement? Like could be eggs?

types of corals incase is polyp bailout of some kind?

 

[esther]

following along... never seen anything like it.

 

[flsalty]

I would guess some type of hydroid. Following along to see what it actually is.

 

[Malifry97]

Wicked! I've never seen something like this. Following along for the answer

Same!

 

[Malifry97]

@DSC reef

 

[Jerry Gunn]

They are about 1cm long. I put them in a petri dish with some baby brine shrimp. When the shrimp touch the little balls on the flower end, the shrimp stop moving. The little balls are on short stalks and twitch occasionally. So maybe hydroids or coral larvae?

This tank has no live rock, bare bottom, no macro algae, only 15 Dwarf Sea Horses. No additions to the tank for 3 months.

 

[Malifry97]

Maybe it’s some sort of anemone...

 

[KJ]

Resemble anemone.
@reef lover

 

[Jerry Gunn]

Most of the brine shirimp in the petri dish are dying. They are usually quite hardy. Maybe its secreting some toxin.

 

[Jerry Gunn]

All the brine shrimp in the dish with the UFO (Unidentified Foreign Organism) have died within 3 hours.


Experiment in progress. I took some brine shrimp and put them in another Petri dish along with 5 drops of Nannochloropsis. I will observe them for three hours then add the foreign critters to the new dish which is at the same salinity and pH. I will report back later this evening with the results.

 

[Malifry97]

I’m thinking that if the brine are dying it is stinging them...another life of evidence saying anemone...will need further testing as you said you would

 

[vetteguy53081]

squids lay their eggs in such sacs but likely not squid. Carnation corals and lepastrea do the same but these sacs are larger. Hmmmm.
My best guess is hydroids and now when I look up hydroid:

 

[Jerry Gunn]

I added the 2 UFOs to the brine shrimp in the petri dish with a very small paintbrush to avoid their injury. Several shrimp bumped into them and immediately were in distress and could not get away. A few stuck to the open head. After 4 minutes the head closed. I guess it had enough to swallow.. Even bumping into the lower body seems to immobilize the shrimp. Even getting close to the UFO seems to kill them. The UFOs look almost exactly like the Star Trek TV series "Doomsday Machine". Its probably a hydroid or anemone. Hopefully its a juvenile anemone. I don't know how it got in the tank unless it came with the captive bred sea horses. I don't have any other marine aquariums. And it took three months to take hold. Wow.

 

[Malifry97]

I added the 2 UFOs to the brine shrimp in the petri dish with a very small paintbrush to avoid their injury. Several shrimp bumped into them and immediately were in distress and could not get away. A few stuck to the open head. After 4 minutes the head closed. I guess it had enough to swallow.. Even bumping into the lower body seems to immobilize the shrimp. Even getting close to the UFO seems to kill them. The UFOs look almost exactly like the Star Trek TV series "Doomsday Machine". Its probably a hydroid or anemone. Hopefully its a juvenile anemone. I don't know how it got in the tank unless it came with the captive bred sea horses. I don't have any other marine aquariums. And it took three months to take hold. Wow.

hmmmm interesting

 

[Jerry Gunn]

Well after 3 hours, most brine shrimp are dead. I doubt if I can keep the UFOs alive since there is little circulation in the petri dish, although they are certainly well fed now.