Help IDing this thing?

[SomethingSomewhere]

I have no idea if there's a better place for this.
I'm new to saltwater and was given a tank and equipment and everything for free, and ended up with this guy without any information.
That third image is of it eating fish food, I guess?? It's got some weird little spindly things that come out of the holes there and grab into any food that falls near it. Is that normal? Is there something else living inside? No idea

 

[Rtaylor]

Maybe it’s the pics, but looks like dead coral skeleton

 

[reeferguy3303]

Looks like an empty frag plug

 

[SomethingSomewhere]

Great. Now I need to figure out what that thing inside of it is. Guess i'll go to some other section for that lol

 

[Lyss]

Great. Now I need to figure out what that thing inside of it is. Guess i'll go to some other section for that lol

Can you turn on white lights and take a better pic? Or at least circle what on the plug you’re talking about?

It honestly just looks like a dead coral skeleton that maybe has some sort of hitchhiker or pest in it. Just pull that plug out and get rid of it.

 

[SomethingSomewhere]

Can you turn on white lights and take a better pic? Or at least circle what on the plug you’re talking about?

It honestly just looks like a dead coral skeleton that maybe has some sort of hitchhiker or pest in it. Just pull that plug out and get rid of it.

Well. I'm suddenly much less concerned about the coral.
I went to try getting a better picture, and I saw this thing in the corner. Looks the same as what I was talking about before, except much more visible. Oof

 

[Lyss]

Well. I'm suddenly much less concerned about the coral.
I went to try getting a better picture, and I saw this thing in the corner. Looks the same as what I was talking about before, except much more visible. Oof

Looks like a spaghetti worm to me, nbd. But like I mentioned before, photos under white light would make it more clear/easier to see.

 

[SomethingSomewhere]

Looks like a spaghetti worm to me, nbd. But like I mentioned before, photos under white light would make it more clear/easier to see.

The light was as white there as I could get it. But yeah, that does seem to line up with what google images is showing me. Glad it's not harmful but it sure isn't pretty lol

 

[WheatToast]

I have no idea if there's a better place for this.
I'm new to saltwater and was given a tank and equipment and everything for free, and ended up with this guy without any information.
That third image is of it eating fish food, I guess?? It's got some weird little spindly things that come out of the holes there and grab into any food that falls near it. Is that normal? Is there something else living inside? No idea

The creature looks like a Spiny oyster (which is very much not a coral). Like most other bivalve mollusks (clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and a variety of other delectable, two-shelled invertebrates :)), they usually do not survive well in captivity since they require microscopic food particles (ex. phytoplankton) that are scarce in aquariums (major exceptions include the Tridacna aka giant clams that can derive energy from photosynthetic Zooxanthellae in their tissues). Thus, probably, the food is simply sticking to its mantle (the flesh sticking out). The “spindly things” are probably hitchhikers on the oyster’s shell (they are hard to make out in the images, could you take close up pictures under white light, ex. with a flashlight?).

A large Spiny oyster:

Well. I'm suddenly much less concerned about the coral.
I went to try getting a better picture, and I saw this thing in the corner. Looks the same as what I was talking about before, except much more visible. Oof

Looks like a Glass anemone, known more commonly as Aiptasia, the genus they belong to (though some of the tendrils in the image do resemble those of harmless, detritus-consuming Spaghetti worms). Aiptasia are notorious pests in marine aquariums as they reproduce rapidly, spread over rockwork, and sting animals they come in contact with.

Information on controlling Aiptasia:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...ate-aiptasia-naturally-the-aiptasia-hit-squad
https://www.reefhacks.com/how-to-kill-aiptasia-anemones/#tab-con-7

Aiptasia:

Spaghetti worm on snail shell (center):

 

[WheatToast]

I have no idea if there's a better place for this.
I'm new to saltwater and was given a tank and equipment and everything for free, and ended up with this guy without any information.
That third image is of it eating fish food, I guess?? It's got some weird little spindly things that come out of the holes there and grab into any food that falls near it. Is that normal? Is there something else living inside? No idea

Here’s a smaller Spiny oyster which looks more similar:

 

[SomethingSomewhere]

Here’s a smaller Spiny oyster which looks more similar:

That is an interesting similarity on the oyster. But considering my thing came attached to a plug, it probably is just a skeleton. Which is a shame; an oyster would have been much more interesting.
Same goes for the worm. I saw it all sprawled out like the one in that image, a little bit ago. I definitely would have preferred an anemone; looks easier to remove. :')

 

[WheatToast]

I definitely would have preferred an anemone; looks easier to remove. :')

Never wish an Aiptasia infestation, even on your worst enemy. Attempting to manually remove Aiptasia often shreds them into smaller fragments which will grow into new anemones… they are the effectively the definition of difficult to get rid of ;Inpain…

Aiptasia infestation:

 

[Lyss]

The light was as white there as I could get it. But yeah, that does seem to line up with what google images is showing me. Glad it's not harmful but it sure isn't pretty lol

You would need to turn off the blue on your light so it’s just white, or shine a flashlight to put more white light on the subject. It just makes it easier for folks to see to make a positive ID.

 

[WheatToast]

That is an interesting similarity on the oyster. But considering my thing came attached to a plug, it probably is just a skeleton. Which is a shame; an oyster would have been much more interesting.

By skeleton, you mean a coral skeleton? I think I can a mantle coming out from the creature's shell, so I am personally still convinced it is an oyster. Does the creature snap shut when you disturb it?

 

[SomethingSomewhere]

By skeleton, you mean a coral skeleton? I think I can a mantle coming out from the creature's shell, so I am personally still convinced it is an oyster. Does the creature snap shut when you disturb it?

Yeah, coral skeleton.
And it’s never moved.
Worst case, I can always take it into my LFS and let someone confirm up close later. (I won’t be able to take new pictures for a bit anyway)

 

[reeferguy3303]

I would just throw away the frag plug. No need to take it to the LFS