ID Help Needed and Coral Question

georgec · 11/27/2006, 07:16 PM

I just added two new pieces of live rock to my tank and had a few questions (excuse the bad pictures... my camera seems to have problems focusing through the tank).

Basically, hoping for some ID help and also advice on whether anything should be cause for concerns...

First the things without pictures....

1) There are these brown tuft-like balls, maybe 1 cm or less. Are these anything I should worry about (algae etc...)

2) There a a couple of green moss-like tufts (smoother than the brown ones, more like moss) maybe .5 cm across...

3) There's this brown guy maybe 2cm tall attached to rock. At the end is a round disc that looks like it has a mouth in the center with tiny arms radiating around it. The arms are short and look like there are little bulbs at the end. I looked at the Aiptasia pictures and it doesn't seem the same. Here's a picture:

4) One of the rocks looks like it has some coral on it...
a) The bunch on the left looks like a stoney coral, it is white in color. Is this just a dead/bleached coral piece? or is there any way to tell if it is alive?
b) The two bunchs to the left are more spikey, and also look bleached/white. Same question... is this just dead coral?

Thanks!

bertoni · 11/27/2006, 07:54 PM

Unfortunately, the pictures are pretty blurry and lack detail, which is pretty common, since such pictures are hard to take. The last picture might show a number of organisms, but dead coral is a reasonable guess.

You could try looking for some pictures of majano anemones, another common pest.

The tufts could be a type of macroalga. I'd probably leave them alone for the moment, but if they start spreading, you might not like the result.

georgec · 11/27/2006, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bertoni

You could try looking for some pictures of majano anemones, another common pest.

I looked at some majano pictures (for #3). They all look more like anemones than this thing (much longer stalk than arms). As I was searching, I stumbled across some pics of zoas and palys? This doesn't look as colorful, but is there a chance it might be a lone stalk of one of these?

georgec · 11/27/2006, 08:52 PM

I figured out how to do macro and manual focus... here's a better picture:

bertoni · 11/27/2006, 09:03 PM

Nice shot!

I'm not sure what you have there, other than a polyp of some sort. I'd guess it's an anemone of some sort, but whether it'll be invasive or not, I can't really guess. You could wait and see, although that has risks.

georgec · 11/28/2006, 11:31 AM

Some local reefers seconded the opinion that it is a majano... so I plucked it with some tweezers yesterday to be safe. Thanks for the help

11/27/2006, 07:16 PM	#1
georgec Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco Posts: 73	ID Help Needed and Coral Question I just added two new pieces of live rock to my tank and had a few questions (excuse the bad pictures... my camera seems to have problems focusing through the tank). Basically, hoping for some ID help and also advice on whether anything should be cause for concerns... First the things without pictures.... 1) There are these brown tuft-like balls, maybe 1 cm or less. Are these anything I should worry about (algae etc...) 2) There a a couple of green moss-like tufts (smoother than the brown ones, more like moss) maybe .5 cm across... 3) There's this brown guy maybe 2cm tall attached to rock. At the end is a round disc that looks like it has a mouth in the center with tiny arms radiating around it. The arms are short and look like there are little bulbs at the end. I looked at the Aiptasia pictures and it doesn't seem the same. Here's a picture: 4) One of the rocks looks like it has some coral on it... a) The bunch on the left looks like a stoney coral, it is white in color. Is this just a dead/bleached coral piece? or is there any way to tell if it is alive? b) The two bunchs to the left are more spikey, and also look bleached/white. Same question... is this just dead coral? Thanks!

11/27/2006, 07:54 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Unfortunately, the pictures are pretty blurry and lack detail, which is pretty common, since such pictures are hard to take. The last picture might show a number of organisms, but dead coral is a reasonable guess. You could try looking for some pictures of majano anemones, another common pest. The tufts could be a type of macroalga. I'd probably leave them alone for the moment, but if they start spreading, you might not like the result. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/27/2006, 09:03 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Nice shot! I'm not sure what you have there, other than a polyp of some sort. I'd guess it's an anemone of some sort, but whether it'll be invasive or not, I can't really guess. You could wait and see, although that has risks. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/27/2006, 08:52 PM	#4
georgec Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco Posts: 73	I figured out how to do macro and manual focus... here's a better picture:

11/28/2006, 11:31 AM	#6
georgec Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco Posts: 73	Some local reefers seconded the opinion that it is a majano... so I plucked it with some tweezers yesterday to be safe. Thanks for the help