Need help identifying a peaceful hitchhiker

[Kiophy]

Hello!
First time posting, and I haven't been in the marine aquarium hobby for long.

I recently bought a xenia sp. coral. On the rock I got are three xenia corals, and I assumed a fourth extremely tiny one. When I looked closely, this tiny one didn't seem like xenia. After a few days, I noticed the little guy had moved! So sounds more like an anemone, but it certainly doesn't look like the invasive kind.

Anyone know what creature this is?

Proof of movement! (Yes it sadly seems that the xenia is melting )


Here are better pictures of the creature itself:

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Definitely some kind of pest anemone! I'm not sure the exact species but I will see if I can figure it out. It was probably stinging the xenia and caused it to melt away.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Just found it!!

Its a Thalassianthus anemone. Very similar to an aptasia or majano.

 

[bradleym]

Just found it!!

Its a Thalassianthus anemone. Very similar to an aptasia or majano.

This is it! I haven't seen them in forever. I have actually been looking for them but they are hard to come by. They are very cool, but they do split frequently, which makes them invasive.

 

[Kiophy]

Well this is extremely interesting.

I searched up thalassianthus, and came across another thread with a very similar anemone being identified. There it was mentioned, that the anemone wasn't exactly like the mentioned thalassianthus, and was even somewhat similar to a hell's fire anemone. Most of those look very different from this creature, but one specific observation I made was that the area around its mouth is similar to the stripes I see on the pictures of the hell's fire anemones. Do thalassianthus have their mouth visible? I also found an article on a xenia mimic.

 

[Dreminon]

don't know what it is but is cool looking

 

[Kiophy]

Oh if it means anything, I did see my blenny laying on top of it for a moment without reacting oddly at all. Can it be it simply can't sting the fish?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Oh if it means anything, I did see my blenny laying on top of it for a moment without reacting oddly at all. Can it be it simply can't sting the fish?

It can be. Depending on the size of it's nematocysts(the toxic harpoons that sting and grab food). It's a small anemone so it may not be able to harm larger fish.

 

[Kiophy]

So there is a significant threat that the anemone is invasive and troublesome... But I really wanna keep the little guy and see it grow and maybe identify it for certain someday.


How should I go about it? Try and force it to move to a separate location since one of the three xenias is still showing some signs of life? How would I do that best?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

For moving nems you can try the nem cannon on the forum here, or there are a few other ideas that may work too.

Here’s a thread with some more info on Thalassianthus aster (my posts at the bottom contain the info, but you can see some pics of a more mature specimen in thread, so I’m just linking the whole thing):

What species of anime is this?

I’ve never seen anything like this before and I thought I was familiar with all tropical anemone species, so I’m assuming it most be coldwater. Any ideas? Two different specimens. Apparently around ~13cm in diameter.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Kiophy]

For moving nems you can try the nem cannon on the forum here, or there are a few other ideas that may work too.

Here’s a thread with some more info on Thalassianthus aster (my posts at the bottom contain the info, but you can see some pics of a more mature specimen in thread, so I’m just linking the whole thing):

What species of anime is this?

I’ve never seen anything like this before and I thought I was familiar with all tropical anemone species, so I’m assuming it most be coldwater. Any ideas? Two different specimens. Apparently around ~13cm in diameter.

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you for linking the thread! Very interesting and those pictures are also beautiful.
One question from what you said at the end there... That they are reported to sting everything, including people. Can this be used to help identify this under 1 cm tiny anemone I have? Or is it still that it may be too small to sting a 3 cm long blenny?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you for linking the thread! Very interesting and those pictures are also beautiful.
One question from what you said at the end there... That they are reported to sting everything, including people. Can this be used to help identify this under 1 cm tiny anemone I have? Or is it still that it may be too small to sting a 3 cm long blenny?

I'm not sure - I know occasionally you get fish that may be stung interacting with nems without harm, so I'd imagine no. I'm not a nem guy though, so it may be better to ask those who are on the forum here (like @Eagle_Steve).

Also of note on that point, SaltCorner was the only site I found that discussed the sting, so I can't verify the accuracy of the information. I know Thalassianthus aster does have a few different kinds of toxin in its sting, so I'd imagine it's a relatively potent sting if it does sting though.

Something that you may find fun if it does turn out to be T. aster - they are sometimes carried on hermit crab shells.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Very cool looking! I think it should be called a snowflake anemone

Seriously though, is this related to rock flower anemones? At first glance that's what I thought it might be.

 

[Kiophy]

Very cool looking! I think it should be called a snowflake anemone

Seriously though, is this related to rock flower anemones? At first glance that's what I thought it might be.

Who knows what exactly it is! Maybe someday we can figure it out when/if it grows. I like the idea of calling it a snowflake anemone.

Little update on it:
It now has its own rock, which is above the ground. I hope it'll find a good spot there, far away from other corals.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I don't think this nem is closely related to RFA's unfortunately. From what I can see of the tentacles, I'm inclined to agree that this nem is likely either T. aster, or an Actinodendron sp., as branching tentacles are very unique in anemones - I think it will become apparent as it grows which one it is (the presence or lack of the little berry-like nematospheres found on T. aster would be a pretty clear indicator when the nem is more mature), but if the OP can get a clear enough pic of the tentacles, it might be enough to tell now too.

T. aster tentacles (the white balls are the nematospheres):

Images Source: http://actiniaria.com/heterodactyla_hemprichii.php
Some relatively similar looking Actinodendron sp. tentacles:

Images Source: http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/actinodendron.htm

 

[bradleym]

I don't think this nem is closely related to RFA's unfortunately. From what I can see of the tentacles, I'm inclined to agree that this nem is likely either T. aster, or an Actinodendron sp., as branching tentacles are very unique in anemones - I think it will become apparent as it grows which one it is (the presence or lack of the little berry-like nematospheres found on T. aster would be a pretty clear indicator when the nem is more mature), but if the OP can get a clear enough pic of the tentacles, it might be enough to tell now too.

T. aster tentacles (the white balls are the nematospheres):

Images Source: http://actiniaria.com/heterodactyla_hemprichii.php
Some relatively similar looking Actinodendron sp. tentacles:

Images Source: http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/actinodendron.htm

These are some of the coolest anemones around, even if they aren't always fish safe. I scoop them up every time one makes it to my LFS (usually by accident).

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

These are some of the coolest anemones around, even if they aren't always fish safe. I scoop them up every time one makes it to my LFS (usually by accident).

Admittedly, these nems are some of the few that tempt me to do a nem specific tank.

 

[Kiophy]

I don't think this nem is closely related to RFA's unfortunately. From what I can see of the tentacles, I'm inclined to agree that this nem is likely either T. aster, or an Actinodendron sp., as branching tentacles are very unique in anemones - I think it will become apparent as it grows which one it is (the presence or lack of the little berry-like nematospheres found on T. aster would be a pretty clear indicator when the nem is more mature), but if the OP can get a clear enough pic of the tentacles, it might be enough to tell now too.

T. aster tentacles (the white balls are the nematospheres):

Images Source: http://actiniaria.com/heterodactyla_hemprichii.php
Some relatively similar looking Actinodendron sp. tentacles:

Images Source: http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/actinodendron.htm

Yeah I believe you're right. T. aster and Actinodendron species are the most likely possibilities, because not many anemone species have branching tentacles.

I wish I could get an even better picture! Even the ones I shared were already taken with a magnifying glass between the camera and the aquarium glass. I can't even observe the tentacles well with my own eyes. Sadly, I believe we must wait to be able to solve this

 

[Kiophy]

Little update:
The little nem has been floating around trying to find a good place.

It was quite funny to look at it first take hold of the glass with its tentacles, and then flip itself upside down before letting go. When it landed, I also noticed it had grabbed some sand with its tentacles as well.
Is this how they always let go? Do all anemones have the capability to grab smooth surfaces with their tentacles? I'm fascinated.

Here it is, after flipping itself over and grabbing the wall behind it with its tentacles, just before letting go. I thought this was worth sharing!