Need help with ID

[reefing.on.reefer]

I’ve got the poss. Algae growing all over my live rock.
it hasn’t caused any problems to my knowledge. And sometime even look pretty. But I’m really curious to know exactly what they are. I’d like to do some research and discover they’re Benefits or negative effects to my reef

 

[andrewey]

Unfortunately those are aptasia. They are a quick growing pest anemone that can sting coral or fish. Some species will spread very quickly and can wreck a tank while others grow slowly and seem not to multiply as fast. They can be removed via biological controls (aptasia eating file fish, the correct species of peppermint shrimp, copperband butterfly, etc.) or you can inject them with kalk paste or commercial preperations. I would watch videos on aptasia control to see how this is done effectively.

Also can't confirm ID 100%, but I suspect you have an outbreak of tiny yellow skeleton hands

 

[PeaBrain]

Looks to me like aiptasia. Not a good thing. A fast spreading stinging pest anemone. It can be treated however.

 

[reefing.on.reefer]

Thank you guys. I’ll do some research now or how to rid effectively

 

[naelliott]

Hi everyone,

I am brand new to the saltwater tank life. I established the tank with dry live rock. I added a piece of wet live rock in order to add coralline algae to the tank. I saw two of these critters on the rock and did some research and believe they may be Aiptasia? Looks similar to the above.

My question is, do I get rid of them with one of the killing mechanisms or just take the rock out and find another small piece? The rock has only been in there about a week.

Thanks

 

[andrewey]

First, welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yup, those are aptasia. If they are confined to that rock, I'd remove immediately. If you got it from a local fish store, you can try and trade it in, but I wouldn't get any more rock from that location. The same is true if you got the live rock from a fellow hobbyist. Even if you can't see them at first, assume all rock that was in the same container or plumbed to that container is contaminated

You'll have to watch your tank carefully- they can spread rapidly, so at the first sign that there's another aptasia, immediately jump into action and kalk it (or your preferred method). Assuming you're dealing with the slow growing kind, by removing the rock and being diligent, you just prevented a real headache later on Nice spotting and being proactive to research the problem!

If you have any other questions, feel free to post! Also, you might want to make a post in the meet & greet forum to introduce yourself and your tank to the community!

Happy Reefing!

 

[naelliott]

Thank you so much. Will definitely get the rock out ASAP and keep a very close eye. Will maybe try to scrape some coralline off the edges.

Thanks for the directions to the meet and greet, will take a look.

Thanks!