Must see... need ID help please, never seen anything like this?

slugwall · Aug 15, 2012

I saw my fish playing with this in the tank from the top and now it settled in the bottom of the tank.
I have no idea what this is... looks weird...very weird. It's smaller than a cotton swab tip.
Thank you in advance...

Bongo Shrimp · Aug 15, 2012

Looks like the guts of a mushroom coral or maybe some kind of LPS.

revhtree · Aug 15, 2012

That's easy! It's a white bouquet of flowers made with ribbons for a wedding in a shell in your tank.

NewB87 · Aug 15, 2012

Very weird lol I would be interested to
Find out also.

Reef Breeders · Aug 15, 2012

Looks like a sponge to me

AquaNerd1 · Aug 15, 2012

those are eggs from either a snail or a nudibranch of some kind

Bongo Shrimp · Aug 15, 2012

They are definitely mesenterial filaments. Look at this pic.

bige · Aug 16, 2012

AquaNerd said:
those are eggs from either a snail or a nudibranch of some kind

I agree. Eggs.

impur · Aug 16, 2012

Sure looks like mesenterial filaments to me as well, maybe a little ticked off mushroom?

Bongo Shrimp · Aug 16, 2012

Here's some more pics of mesenterial filaments.

Bovine · Aug 16, 2012

my first thought was some type of scroll algae. but the mesenterial filaments look dead on.

slugwall · Aug 16, 2012

Bongo Shrimp said:
They are definitely mesenterial filaments. Look at this pic.

I looked this up after your answers

In addition to sweeper tentacles, several hard coral species can produce mesenterial filaments (also termed mesenteric filaments) from their stomachs. Corals of the genera Favia, Favites, Scolymia, Pavona, and Cynarina all have this capacity. These filaments can kill or devour other coral polyps through a process similar to digestion. Some corals even have the capacity to produce both sweeper tentacles and mesenterial filaments, enabling them to fight a battle on several fronts.

Does this sound right? I can't find anywhere that says its bad for the tank either...

slugwall · Aug 16, 2012

I just bought an anemone the other day and its definately trying to find a place in the tank...Also found this...
Anemones have three very distinct layers that make up their radially symmetrical body plan. The outer ectoderm, inner endoderm and a mesogloea which resides in between the two. The mesenteries are the meat of the anemone, containing filaments that look like spokes of a bicycle wheel and are responsible for providing large surface area for gas exchange, in collaboration with an important site for digestion of food and development of gametes.

These whitish filaments can be released by anemones through the mouth in the middle of the oral disc or column wall. This ability for anemones to release these acontia or mesenterial filaments is often times a direct result of some form of physical duress associated with temperature variances, water flow, salinity changes, or physical disturbances brought upon by such things as poor handling practices.