Help With Live Rock Hitchhiker ID

[Plexasaurus]

Hi Everyone!

Recently bought live ocean rock and was wondering if anyone could help with some ID as I'm new to the hobby! Thanks for your help!

Pic 1: Saw this growing on a bivalve?

Pic 2: Saw these little tentacles and not sure if this an anemone - aiptasia perhaps?

Pic 3: this read stuff is all over this rock and some of the other rocks that came in - not sure what it is

Pic 4: does anyone know what this worm-like thing is handing down from one of the rocks? It appears to be alive and does retract from time to time.

Pic 5: translucent/white thing on the rock

Pic 6: these orangey/red looking structures - one on the bivalve and the other on the rock

Pic 7: not sure if this is aiptasia. This rock is (I believe) from the Gulf of Mexico (or America) and not sure if it is, if it's the kind that spreads. Help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

Hey there, and welcome to R2R! Here are my best guesses:

Pic 1: Perhaps a small colony of hidden cup corals. If so, nothing to worry about. Good hitchhiker!
Pic 2/7: I agree with your guess about aiptasia, or at least some pest anemone. If so, it's best to get rid of them!
Pic 3: I'm not sure, but it could be some kind of sponge. Sponges can come in all shapes and colors and are usually nothing to worry about.
Pic 4: I have no idea. It appears segmented like many reef worms, but if it is slow-moving, that is odd.
Pic 5: Maybe sponge?
Pic 6: Another sponge, perhaps.

Again, these are just some guesses, so hopefully, others will join in and help us out!

 

[Plexasaurus]

Hey there, and welcome to R2R! Here are my best guesses:

Pic 1: Perhaps a small colony of hidden cup corals. If so, nothing to worry about. Good hitchhiker!
Pic 2/7: I agree with your guess about aiptasia, or at least some pest anemone. If so, it's best to get rid of them!
Pic 3: I'm not sure, but it could be some kind of sponge. Sponges can come in all shapes and colors and are usually nothing to worry about.
Pic 4: I have no idea. It appears segmented like many reef worms, but if it is slow-moving, that is odd.
Pic 5: Maybe sponge?
Pic 6: Another sponge, perhaps.

Again, these are just some guesses, so hopefully, others will join in and help us out!

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[dlemonz]

I agree 5 and 6 are sponges the rest no idea

 

[Sm1nts2escape]

Welcome to the hobby and nice rock! I would get rid of the aptaisia anemone things asap if it were me. I too am new to the hobby and started with a well "seasoned" tank. The live rock in it had an infestation of Majano Anemones. 6 weeks later I have almost eradicated them completely but it has been very tedious messy work. You can set your tanks light to be blue and this may illuminate them for you so they are easier to see. Last weekend I found one on my return overflow grate and on on the side of a rock the day after removing all rocks and inspecting them (I do this bi weekly). If they are within a hole in the rock I squirt some joes juice in the hole then take some epoxy putty for rocks and plug the hole with it. Weeks later I pick the epoxy off. Where did you get the rock?

 

[twentyleagues]

3,5,6 sponge. 7 aipstasia or other glass nem probably invasive. Not sure if 1 is hidden cup or not but a coral of some sort. Agree 4 is a worm of some sort not sure what kind doesnt look like a bristle worm. I dont think gulf has "bobbits" but they do have smaller varieties of the genus.

 

[Plexasaurus]

Thank ya'll for the help!

Welcome to the hobby and nice rock! I would get rid of the aptaisia anemone things asap if it were me. I too am new to the hobby and started with a well "seasoned" tank. The live rock in it had an infestation of Majano Anemones. 6 weeks later I have almost eradicated them completely but it has been very tedious messy work. You can set your tanks light to be blue and this may illuminate them for you so they are easier to see. Last weekend I found one on my return overflow grate and on on the side of a rock the day after removing all rocks and inspecting them (I do this bi weekly). If they are within a hole in the rock I squirt some joes juice in the hole then take some epoxy putty for rocks and plug the hole with it. Weeks later I pick the epoxy off. Where did you get the rock?

Oh man, thanks for sharing. I was reading something about Aiptasia-X but I'm not sure if I should be introducing this into a tank that's just a couple days old. I actually purchased the rock from Gulf Live Rock - came with a lot of life and I'm generally very happy with the order. I purchased knowing that there would probably be a lot of unwanted hitchhikers so I'll just have to tackle things one by one as I see them.

 

[Plexasaurus]

Sorry for the double post but another question for ya'll - this live rock came with a lot of bivalves (clams I'm assuming)? I can't really tell if they're alive or dead. Since putting the live rock in the water yesterday, the majority of them have "moved" a little bit, have opened and closed, etc... Should I remove all of them from the rock or I also saw online you could potentially keep them alive by feeding phyto?

 

[OriginalUserName]

Pic 7 might be a Mojono nem.

 

[lwien01]

Hi Everyone!

Recently bought live ocean rock and was wondering if anyone could help with some ID as I'm new to the hobby! Thanks for your help!

Pic 1: Saw this growing on a bivalve?

Pic 2: Saw these little tentacles and not sure if this an anemone - aiptasia perhaps?

Pic 3: this read stuff is all over this rock and some of the other rocks that came in - not sure what it is

Pic 4: does anyone know what this worm-like thing is handing down from one of the rocks? It appears to be alive and does retract from time to time.

Pic 5: translucent/white thing on the rock

Pic 6: these orangey/red looking structures - one on the bivalve and the other on the rock

Pic 7: not sure if this is aiptasia. This rock is (I believe) from the Gulf of Mexico (or America) and not sure if it is, if it's the kind that spreads. Help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[lwien01]

The tentacles are Aiptasia
The long stringy worms are Bristle Worms, they are the harmless kind that ate detritus
The orange colored things growing on the rock are sponges: beneficial
The translucent things growing on the rock are probably sponges as well

 

[DesktopDiver]

Could 4 be a brittle star arm? I found I had some white ones in my tank the other day.

 

[lwien01]

Could 4 be a brittle star arm? I found I had some white ones in my tank the other day.

 

[lwien01]

use a flashlight at nighttime to identify them. That's when brittle stars are most active. should be easier to see them

 

[kjkszpj9]

The 2nd pic might actually be a light bulb anemone also known as Bellactis Lux. which look very similar to aiptasia but its pretty hard to tell the difference i guess but they are in the same family as aiptasia. But light bulb anemones are supposed to be as safe as bubble tip anemones

 

[Zeeth]

Here's what I think based on the rock I've gotten from TBS and from the diving I've done in the Gulf:
1: Hidden cup coral
2 and 7: Lightbulb anenome
3 and 6: Sponge
4: I think this may be a brittle star arm. Most of mine from TBS are black/white striped but I do have a larger one with tan arms. I rarely see the actual animals, usually just their arms sticking out like that.
5: I think these may be Tunicates

 

[syon_r]

This post is over a year old but that first coral is not a hidden cup coral, it is a cladocora arbuscula, or tube coral.

 

[jeep and goose]

Those are lightbulb anemones, not pests. That worm thing is just a worm, the translucent white thing is sponge or tunicate, red stuff is sponges. Coral is like northern star coral or something I for got the exact name

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas

Wow I'm late here (sorry, I lost track of a lot of threads I was tagged in as life got busier and busier for me):

1 - Agreed with tube coral
2 - lightbulb nem
3 - sponge
4 - some sort of bristleworm, but I can't see the head well enough to say if it's harmless or not (the shape of the head and the number of tentacles on the head are particularly useful)
5 - colonial tunicates, possibly with some sponge or a different kind of colonial tunicate (also white) below them
6 - most likely sponges
7 - more lightbulb nems in a different color

Sorry for the double post but another question for ya'll - this live rock came with a lot of bivalves (clams I'm assuming)? I can't really tell if they're alive or dead. Since putting the live rock in the water yesterday, the majority of them have "moved" a little bit, have opened and closed, etc... Should I remove all of them from the rock or I also saw online you could potentially keep them alive by feeding phyto?

It's probably too late here, but I would keep them and try the phyto.