Identification help.

[Drumachine09]

I was at the LFS yesterday with one of my friends, when i saw this little peice of LR, no bigger than a baseball, with what i was told was a feather duster. I had the lady weigh it up. It came up to about .25 lbs, and she told me i could just have it. Im not exactly sure what it is, but hopefully, someone here can help me.

[salman]

Looks amazing, i have no experience with salt water what so ever! All i can say it 'it' looks amazing!

[kkyyllee]

aptaisia, kill the b***** before it multiplys

[Drumachine09]

aptaisia, kill the b***** before it multiplys




Awww crap, it looked soo cool too.


If it multipys, what does it do? Will it kill my fish/corals?

[kkyyllee]

it will sting or smother all the corals around it and they multiply fast

[Rue]

I think Kyle is right...Aiptasia...one of the major SW tank pests...

They're very prolific...and will kill fish and corals...

DO NOT try and rip it off...any left over pieces have amazing regrowth from what I've read...

Unless you can do it out of the tank and then scrape where the polyp base was attached? Nothing wrong with the rock of course.

Not an emergency by any means...you can enjoy it for a while...just keep an eye out on it and be prepared to remove it when you need to...

I'm VERY surprised that they gave you a pest though! :hmm3grin2orange:

[Rue]

LOL...posted at the same time...but I'm on stupid dial-up...:c4:

[Drumachine09]

Yea, the new guy there told me it was a feather duster. I compared it to the large feather dusters in the tank above that one, and they looked simmaler, so i thought, hey, free coral. Guess he doenst know much now does he.

I entered that pic in the POTM contest anyway, lol.

Thanks for the help guys!

[Drumachine09]

Hmmm, i also got to thinking. If aptasia have no negative effects on fish, would an aptasia tank be a good idea? or just a total waste of time and my 5 mushrooms?

[kkyyllee]

fish tend to avoid them when there in the tnak so i think they can get stung, and it wouldnt be that good looking of a tank, do you haveany pep. shrimp in the tank currently?

[Drumachine09]

fish tend to avoid them when there in the tnak so i think they can get stung, and it wouldnt be that good looking of a tank, do you haveany pep. shrimp in the tank currently?

Oh well, just a thought.


I have a camel shrimp, but he stays hidden untill well after the lights go out.

[2manyfish]

Camel shrimp probably won't touch it.
I've actually heard of someone having a "pest" tank! It had aiptasia, gorilla crabs, mojano anemones, and a big domino damsel!! Different that's for sure!

I think in a decent sized tank the fish can avoid aiptasia pretty well (or most fish for that matter) but it's what you will end up having to do once the aiptasia gets to plague proportions. Tearing down the tank to wash off all the rock isn't fun, neither is injecting every single anemone with Joe's Juice!
Take it out now before it spreads. I would also educate the staff at the LFS so they don't try to sell any more of these things to their customers!! :ezpi_wink1:

[coachfraley]

For some wierd reason, the pest tanks are gaining popularity...

One of the more popular ones is the mantis shrimp tank. The mantis shrimp is THE biggest SW Live Rock pest, yet some people set up a tank just for them!

I saw a mantis for sale at my LFS that was about 7-8 inches long!

BTW, 2manyfish is dead on about the aiptasia.

[Drumachine09]

Yea, ive got a pair of hemostats that i use to remove fishhooks when i go fishing, so i grabed those out of my truck and pinched him right at the base. I gave him a good yank, but there was still some left. I used a razor blade and scraped the bits off. I should be home free now.

[coachfraley]

I am not sure if this is correct, but I thought these guys can regenerate from little bits of tissue left on the rock (the same way xenia can). I think that is why people use Joe's Juice to actually kill the organism entirely???

[2manyfish]

You're right Coach :28: like the many headed hydra, when you lop off one head more will grow in it's place!! Hope you gave that rock a good rinsing Drum!! :ezpi_wink1:

[Drumachine09]

You're right Coach :28: like the many headed hydra, when you lop off one head more will grow in it's place!! Hope you gave that rock a good rinsing Drum!! :ezpi_wink1:



It was right on the top, not in a crack or anything, so i scraped it, and i couldnt see any more peices or anything, so i think (hope) ill be ok.

[coachfraley]

I had a somewhat similar thing happen to me recently. I purchased some extra live rock for my tank (about a pound), and I put it in my QT tank for a few weeks while it cycled. During the cycling, one of the rocks started growing a coral called anthelia. It wasn't a coral that I would have chosen, but I figured since it was free...heck, I'll give it a chance.

Anyway,the day comes and I finally move it into my display about a half hour before the lights turn off. I was checking out the tank a half hour later and the lights click off. Immediately 2 bristleworms come poking out of the rock with the anthelia! I know bristleworms are supposed to be harmless, but I can't stand them. So I grabbed the rock and trashed it before the bristleworms could get out into my tank.

I know some people will think I acted hastily, but to me, It just wasn't worth the trouble to keep that rock in my tank. I might have thrown away a coral, but I saved myself a major headache.

[kkyyllee]

mantis arent pests!!, ur lucky if u get one of them

[coachfraley]

Uh oh, I upset one of the mantis lovers!:c3:

[unleashed]

I had a really big one of those once and it stung and killed my mandarin fish. IME, Joe's Juice is the best thing to get rid of them.

[Drumachine09]

I had a really big one of those once and it stung and killed my mandarin fish. IME, Joe's Juice is the best thing to get rid of them.


What exactly is joes juice? Is it something that comes in a syringe and you inject it into the pests? I think ive seen that around here. Its probobly a good addition to any saltwater stuff cabinent.