Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

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Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 3rd, 2010, 10:54 pm

I've posted this question in my tank thread as well, but on the basis there may be more traffic up here, I'll repost here.

Does anyone know what I have here? They're still very small (1-2mm maybe), which is why the photos aren't great (plus the camera and photographer are sub-par). I thought maybe a hitchhiker coral when I first saw them, as the tentacles seem to be pointier than a majano and the body shape is wrong for a aiptasia. But maybe this is what majano look like when they first appear and are still very tiny.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 4th, 2010, 3:42 am

Well, I touched one with the rounded edge of an algae scraper and there were definite signs of a skeleton there once it retracted (whitish lines showing up through the tissue), so hopefully that makes the possibility of pest anemone less likely (they're so tiny, I can't be 100% sure). I will keep watching them as they grow.

They started to be noticeable soon after I started dosing kalk, so maybe that indicates they might be a hard coral as well...
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby ANEMONEBUFF » September 4th, 2010, 9:55 am

I remember them being called button corals. I had one years back that came as a hitchhiker on LR that lasted about a year and then just disappeared one day. Feeding some Phytos or oyster eggs might help.
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 4th, 2010, 10:06 am

ANEMONEBUFF wrote:I remember them being called button corals. I had one years back that came as a hitchhiker on LR that lasted about a year and then just disappeared one day. Feeding some Phytos or oyster eggs might help.


Thanks Dan. I need to try and do some research on them. I might try dosing phyto and see what that does to the tank anyway. I've got a mixed variety of macros starting to take off right now, which will help the micro-life, but dosing phyto would also help I guess. Not sure I can get oyster eggs over here. Will have to look into it.
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 4th, 2010, 10:11 am

I can get oyster eggs, but they'll cost me $45 for 30g. 8O
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby ANEMONEBUFF » September 4th, 2010, 10:23 am

http://www.dtplankton.com/oystereggs.html
http://www.marinedepot.com/DT%60s_Natur ... _1oz_(30mL)_For_Filter_Feeding_Inverts-DT_s_Plankton_Farm-DT1311-FIFDFZFF-vi.html
Dan

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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby ANEMONEBUFF » September 4th, 2010, 10:27 am

Dan

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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 4th, 2010, 10:44 am

I had been wondering whether they might be cup corals. Useful link, thanks! :)

ANEMONEBUFF wrote:http://www.dtplankton.com/oystereggs.html
http://www.marinedepot.com/DT%60s_Natur ... _1oz_(30mL)_For_Filter_Feeding_Inverts-DT_s_Plankton_Farm-DT1311-FIFDFZFF-vi.html


Thanks, but being in Japan, I can't get frozen food shipped from the States! I do get a lot of my dry goods from the States, but frozen food is not possible.
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby ANEMONEBUFF » September 5th, 2010, 8:05 pm

How about freeze dried cyclopese and daphnia?
Dan

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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 6th, 2010, 6:01 am

I'll look into it, thanks! :)
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby GreshamH » September 9th, 2010, 5:30 pm

ANEMONEBUFF wrote:My bad, they are Cup Corals.

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/stony_polyp.html


Please note these are from Japan and none of us outside of Japan have ever gotten any coral legally from there ;) I doubt Marc's page could properly ID them :)
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby GreshamH » September 9th, 2010, 5:31 pm

The Escaped Ape wrote:I had been wondering whether they might be cup corals. Useful link, thanks! :)

ANEMONEBUFF wrote:http://www.dtplankton.com/oystereggs.html
http://www.marinedepot.com/DT%60s_Natur ... _1oz_(30mL)_For_Filter_Feeding_Inverts-DT_s_Plankton_Farm-DT1311-FIFDFZFF-vi.html


Thanks, but being in Japan, I can't get frozen food shipped from the States! I do get a lot of my dry goods from the States, but frozen food is not possible.


I ship refrigerated feeds (Reef Nutrition, Instant Algae) to 83 countries with no issues :) Feel free to contact me to see what I can get you Tom.
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Re: Hitchhiker coral or pest anemone? ID please

Postby The Escaped Ape » September 10th, 2010, 10:30 am

That's a really kind thought Gresh, thank you. I've nothing much to feed yet (and what I have can make do with mysis), but I'll bear that offer in mind. :)
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