Bellactis lux?

[Michael Hughes]

Are these lightbulb anemones? Just noticed them on some TBS live rock. In life they are a translucent white color, not the pinkish hue that my aiptasia seem to have.

 

[Baldyreef]

seems to be some for sure, really cool!

 

[Andamaite]

IMO, those look more like hidden cup coral polyps.

 

[Michael Hughes]

IMO, those look more like hidden cup coral polyps.

I appreciate the input, but they're definitely not Phyllangia americana. Thankfully I did get some of those with the TBS rock as well:

It's hard to tell the scale, but the polyps in the OP photo are only about 1/4" in diameter.

 

[Baldyreef]

I appreciate the input, but they're definitely not Phyllangia americana. Thankfully I did get some of those with the TBS rock as well:

It's hard to tell the scale, but the polyps in the OP photo are only about 1/4" in diameter.

by the photo it almost looks like they have a skeleton, is this js the angle or me going crazy?

 

[Michael Hughes]

by the photo it almost looks like they have a skeleton, is this js the angle or me going crazy?

For clarity, the second photo is of Phyllangia americana (hidden cup coral) - which does have a skeleton - for contrast with the anemones in the original post.

 

[EnterName]

Are these lightbulb anemones? Just noticed them on some TBS live rock. In life they are a translucent white color, not the pinkish hue that my aiptasia seem to have.

I'm quite bad at differentiating these so I can't give an ID with certainty.

Just know that some Aiptasia/Exaiptasia get rid of most of their zooxanthellae and become translucent making a differentiation difficult by color. I would rather be safe than sorry, but it's up to you.

 

[Baldyreef]

For clarity, the second photo is of Phyllangia americana (hidden cup coral) - which does have a skeleton - for contrast with the anemones in the original post.

I thought I was just losing it lol

 

[Michael Hughes]

I'm quite bad at differentiating these so I can't give an ID with certainty.

Just know that some Aiptasia/Exaiptasia get rid of most of their zooxanthellae and become translucent making a differentiation difficult by color. I would rather be safe than sorry, but it's up to you.

Thanks! I've already got aiptasia, so I might as well keep these around and see what they turn out to be.

 

[PolypPocket]

Are these lightbulb anemones? Just noticed them on some TBS live rock. In life they are a translucent white color, not the pinkish hue that my aiptasia seem to have.

Hopefully these are BL

Debbie downer here, I had some that looked like this and turned out to be plain old pest aiptasia (sorry to be THAT person )

Since there are so many kinds they don’t all look like the tannish ones, which I also have from a decorator crab I had introduced to the tank . On the other hand I see the striping in the tentacles on yours so maybe they are (although mine had the same), it will be cool to see what they turn out to be…update us later!! Hopefully I’m wrong and will look like a fool for commenting.

 

[thamnasteroid]

These do look fairly cup coral-like at first glance, but looking closer, I believe those are in fact Aiptasia (or Exaiptasia technically), not Bellactis lux or Phyllangia. B. lux has thicker, more bulbous tentacles, and Phyllangia americana has visible acrospheres and nematocyst batteries. If you look closely at the tentacles, you can see white markings, which is common in Aiptasia.

 

[EnterName]

These do look fairly cup coral-like at first glance, but looking closer, I believe those are in fact Aiptasia (or Exaiptasia technically), not Bellactis lux or Phyllangia. B. lux has thicker, more bulbous tentacles, and Phyllangia americana has visible acrospheres and nematocyst batteries. If you look closely at the tentacles, you can see white markings, which is common in Aiptasia.

Yeay, I'm not the only nerd that uses Exaiptasia!

 

[Michael Hughes]

These certainly aren't Phyllangia.

Here's a side-by-side of the nems in question (first photo), the "typical" aiptasia of the same size (second photo), and a larger aiptasia (third photo) - all in the same tank.

 

[Andamaite]

I think it's the banding that's suggesting "something other than plain old aiptasia" to my eye. I would've almost said Curlique Anemone, but those aren't present at the TBS farm from what I understand.