Hawkaholic
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Any idea what this is? I found about 10 of them stuck between two rocks. At first I thought it might be bubble algae, but they are all clear with that same big headed worm looking brown deal floating in the middle.
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Any idea what this is? I found about 10 of them stuck between two rocks. At first I thought it might be bubble algae, but they are all clear with that same big headed worm looking brown deal floating in the middle.
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Hawkaholic
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Any idea what this is? I found about 10 of them stuck between two rocks. At first I thought it might be bubble algae, but they are all clear with that same big headed worm looking brown deal floating in the middle.
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Looks like a syllidae worm know as autolytinae worm
Any idea what this is? I found about 10 of them stuck between two rocks. At first I thought it might be bubble algae, but they are all clear with that same big headed worm looking brown deal floating in the middle.
Those look like tunicates of some kind to me - the worm thing in the clear ball is basically the organs of the tunicate. It’s hard to tell in the pics, but the first pic looks like the ball may have (or be forming) two openings (siphons) on the right side, and in the other pic showing multiple of them, it looks like a couple of them near the middle of the pic (the one with the really shiny spot on the bottom of it, and the one two specimens below it) may have thin parts that jut out from the body. If the they do have little parts jutting out, then they may be just finishing up metamorphosis.
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I would be very surprised if it’s not a tunicate. Some examples that look relatively similar:
If it’s a tunicate, then it’s harmless, so I’d leave it in the refugium personally.
Another tunicate photo to help decide:
Photo from here:
Fish in the Bay – 2 December UC Davis Trawl – Part 3: The Bugs
It’s end of year, we just passed through solstice (21 December) and King Tide perihelion is coming on 2 Jan. This is a rare chance to discuss a few things in greater detail. A lot of critters I see on UC Davis trawls end up on the cutting room floor. Bugs often are the losers: Decemberwww.ogfishlab.com
Agnezia glaciata Tunicate
Agnezia glaciata is commonly referred to as Tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.
Chelyosoma macleayanum tunicate
Chelyosoma macleayanum is commonly referred to as tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.
Ciona intestinalis Sea Vase, Vase Tunicate
Ciona intestinalis is commonly referred to as Sea Vase, Vase Tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.
Corella parallelogramma Gas mantle ascidian
Corella parallelogramma is commonly referred to as Gas mantle ascidian. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.
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Hawkaholic
Active Member
They’re very similar to some of those. It looks different than the tunicates I’ve had, in that it has no openings. I squeezed one softly it had the firmness of a grape. Could be a tunicate, but I’m not sure how it filter feeds. -I put them right back where I found them after I finished drilling some holes in the top of the rock.I would be very surprised if it’s not a tunicate. Some examples that look relatively similar:
Agnezia glaciata Tunicate
Agnezia glaciata is commonly referred to as Tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.www.reeflex.net
Chelyosoma macleayanum tunicate
Chelyosoma macleayanum is commonly referred to as tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.Ciona intestinalis Sea Vase, Vase Tunicate
Ciona intestinalis is commonly referred to as Sea Vase, Vase Tunicate. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.Corella parallelogramma Gas mantle ascidian
Corella parallelogramma is commonly referred to as Gas mantle ascidian. Difficulty in the aquarium: Not suitable for aquarium keeping. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.
Yeah, the openings can be really hard to spot on some specimens (there are a few species I’ve seen multiple pics of that I still can’t find the siphons on) - like I said, in the first pic you shared, if you look at the far end of the tunicate (the right hand side of the pic, opposite the brown insides), it looks like it may have or be forming the siphon holes (zooming in on the pic helps).
If they’re not adults yet and they’re just now undergoing metamorphosis, though, then the holes may not be formed yet - I’ve only seen the metamorphosis of one specimen of one definitely different species, so I’m not sure how long it would take for these to form the siphons complete the process.
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Hawkaholic
Active Member
It’s a poor picture. Hard to get a good one. The one I popped off was perfectly smooth. No openings yet.
