Coral or sea cucumber?

[Richard Perez]

i found this at the beach today and put it in my tank. I’m thinking it might be a sea cucumber cause it appears to have a tail but I’m not sure. Can someone help me identify this.

 

[James M]

Welcome to reef2reef !!!
Maybe @KJ an give you an answer

 

[johnanddawn]

weird - sea squirt ie tunicate maybe??

 

[KJ]

Take a pic in a clear container from above may help with the ID

 

[Richard Perez]

Take a pic in a clear container from above may help with the ID

Will do

 

[OriginalUserName]

I think it's a cowry?

 

[KJ]

I think it's a cowry?

Yes you are correct.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Welcome to R2R!
Nice find as they are pretty and unique at the same time.
Having said this, when they are small, they will feed on algae and scraps of food, however, when they get larger, they will eat certain Anemones, especially Condylactis sp., soft corals and sponges. So, be careful what you add to your tank knowing you have a Cowrie in it!
Good luck!

 

[Richard Perez]

I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have a shell. I took some better pictures of it upside down and from on top. If I can’t identify it then I’m going to take it back seeing as I don’t know how to care for it and don’t want it to die.

 

[Richard Perez]

I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have a shell. I took some better pictures of it upside down and from on top. If I can’t identify it then I’m going to take it back seeing as I don’t know how to care for it and don’t want it to die.

 

[OriginalUserName]

I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have a shell. I took some better pictures of it upside down and from on top. If I can’t identify it then I’m going to take it back seeing as I don’t know how to care for it and don’t want it to die.

hmm, weird looking

 

[Softhammer]

What beach? Where? That is crazy looking, almost like a sea pen.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Yay more ocean weirdness. Wow that thing looks so alien

 

[Richard Perez]

As for cowry I found two of these the same day.

 

[Richard Perez]

What beach? Where? That is crazy looking, almost like a sea pen.

Mustang island. Tx near Corpus Christi

 

[MSB123]

Mustang island. Tx near Corpus Christi

I personally would not take anything from beaches. Too easy to get parasites.
That said, if you do, make sure the parameters are all perfectly matched. Otherwise the organism will be put into shock and may die.
What tempature is the ocean/ your tank?
What PH?
What salinity?
This is help us figure out why it isn’t doing well.
I think it looks like some sort of sponge or sea cucumber.

 

[Softhammer]

You do know that almost all livestock comes out of the ocean right? I’m pretty sure no one here goes to Fiji to test the water before buying a fish or coral. Being from the gulf it’s going to be a very tolerant species of whatever it is. My vote is a sea pen. It’s not a sponge or cucumber. It has polyps. Almost certainly non photosynthetic so getting food to it is going to be problematic. I have put many things in my tank from the gulf and it does fine- as long as it is photosynthetic or you can visibly see it eat, not an easy or realistic proposition. I’d keep it and learn from it. If you didn’t grab it a seagull would have eaten it anyways....

 

[MabuyaQ]

Sea pansy or better Renilla reniformis.

 

[DrewBrees713]

I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have a shell. I took some better pictures of it upside down and from on top. If I can’t identify it then I’m going to take it back seeing as I don’t know how to care for it and don’t want it to die.

Obviously it’s Ohdumbo duh!

 

[Richard Perez]

I think you’re right. I found it on the sand in shallow water. Thanks for the info. And also has anyone ever kept one?