Anemone identifcation

[Oblivionity]

I think this may be an anemone but I'm not sure. It started as one hitchhiker. And then there were three. When I transferred tanks I couldn't find the third as it was in the sand. Can someone tell me what this is?

 

[Wolf89]

That is aiptasia. A very bad pest. Kill them!

 

[Oblivionity]

Oh okay thank you I just looked them up. There was one on a coral frag when I bought a coral. It never really did any harm to my corals. But for my fish I should probably remove them then?

 

[Wolf89]

Oh okay thank you I just looked them up. There was one on a coral frag when I bought a coral. It never really did any harm to my corals. But for my fish I should probably remove them then?

trust me, for the sake of your sanity, you're going to want to remove them.

 

[Oblivionity]

trust me, for the sake of your sanity, you're going to want to remove them.

The thing is that there was only one of them for a very long time. They've been in my tank for at least 6 months

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Aiptasia. Get rid of it! They are very bad news. They grow exponentially, so one will take a while to turn into two. Those two then become four, those become eight, and so on. Once fully established, they are near impossible to eliminate. If they are stressed, they release cells into the water, each of which has the potential to grow up. They will also regrow from any left on the rock, so just pulling them off isn't an option. They will sting corals and can potentially eat small fish once they get big. This thread has some good advice on how to get rid of them. Good luck!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aiptasia-as-a-pest-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it.770001/

 

[Ram Man]

Aiptasia. I would get rid of it now before the problem becomes worse. They will sting corals and the more you feed your tank and the more food they catch. The happier they will be and reproduce. Ive tried using the white gunk you feed them to kill them and they just multiplied. Personally i would just remove the rock

 

[xiongsy]

Or you can get a Aiptasia Filefish. Although it's not a guarantee they'll get rid of thr aiptasia. Hit or miss I've heard. I have one myself.