Pest of Hammer and Trachy?

[Uzidaisies]

Something weird has been going on with my hammer. I thought it was splitting, but then strange things began to happen. I made another thread about it. At one point I saw a strange structure on it’s flesh. While I was looking through some pictures today, I noticed a very similar looking structure near the base of a Trachy I bought recently. I’m not familiar with a pest that looks quite like this. The folds remind me of some kind of nudibranch. Please, if you can recognize what this is from these images, let me know! If you can’t see it well, I would describe them as being a series of small translucent flaps with white edges, that appear to be emerging from the flesh of the coral as if whatever it is is embedded in the flesh. I haven’t seen it on the hammer again, but the hammer has a few tentacles that appear scarred now, and they some black spots inside the flesh. Perhaps it’s the same organism that moved from the hammer to the Trachy? I really don’t know.

 

[Uzidaisies]

Flatworms? Do they flap around in the current? I wouldn’t expect them to be sticking out like this.

 

[James M]

Mesenterial filaments

 

[Uzidaisies]

Mesenterial filaments

Oh wow, thanks! The two corals have about four inches between them. They’re both pretty small and I haven’t seen sweepers on either of them ever. Do you think they’re gearing up for battle or is this typical, and coincidental that I noticed within a couple days?

 

[Uzidaisies]

Maybe the hammer already got a little sting? Or would the damage be more severe?

 

[James M]

It’s hard to say. Sometimes they put them before stinging starts to occur

 

[Uzidaisies]

It’s hard to say. Sometimes they put them before stinging starts to occur

K, I’ll keep an eye out. You nailed it, thanks again!

 

[minus9]

That looks like a new polyp developing to me. They often develop new polyps at the base where the tissue extends. Soon, you should start to see the skeleton get bigger and extend further from the base and soon you’ll have another polyp.

 

[James M]

That looks like a new polyp developing to me. They often develop new polyps at the base where the tissue extends. Soon, you should start to see the skeleton get bigger and extend further from the base and soon you’ll have another polyp.

New heads develop on the skeleton not the flesh

 

[minus9]

New heads develop on the skeleton not the flesh

I’m referring to the pic. Where there is living tissue is where you’ll find new polyps developing. The pic shows a new polyp, the video shows mesenterial filaments from the oral opening.

 

[minus9]

Here’s an example of what they’ll look like when they start to develop. They develop from living tissue.

 

[Uzidaisies]

Here’s an example of what they’ll look like when they start to develop. They develop from living tissue.

The hammer previously had new heads developing in that manner. I don’t now if they are still there though, they were totally shaded by the two existing heads. My previous thread has more images that show how things unfolded. If anyone is interested. I’m still kind of concerned over it’s scarred appearance and the black dots inside a few of the tentacles. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/think-my-hammer-is-splitting.865408/

 

[minus9]

The pics in your other post look like captured particulate matter and nothing unhealthy. If it’s growing and looks healthy overall, then I wouldn’t be concerned. My clownfish would rip off tentacles from my euphyllia and they were just fine. The only time I would be concerned is when there’s an ongoing issue, tentacles constantly retracted, tissue loss or loss of color. I don’t think you have anything to be concerned about here, just sit back and enjoy. Remember, hobbyist get into trouble when they react to something that’s not an issue and stress out a perfectly healthy coral. I know this seems like super old school advice, but I would buy some used books from Amazon about coral care. There’s a ton of information in these books that’s still relevant and they’re at your disposal 24/7 and don’t require an Internet connection. I recently bought some books that I lost in a move and I paid a fraction of what I paid originally. There are books that sold for $75 +, that you can purchased used, in brand new condition for less than $10.

 

[Uzidaisies]

The pics in your other post look like captured particulate matter and nothing unhealthy. If it’s growing and looks healthy overall, then I wouldn’t be concerned. My clownfish would rip off tentacles from my euphyllia and they were just fine. The only time I would be concerned is when there’s an ongoing issue, tentacles constantly retracted, tissue loss or loss of color. I don’t think you have anything to be concerned about here, just sit back and enjoy. Remember, hobbyist get into trouble when they react to something that’s not an issue and stress out a perfectly healthy coral. I know this seems like super old school advice, but I would buy some used books from Amazon about coral care. There’s a ton of information in these books that’s still relevant and they’re at your disposal 24/7 and don’t require an Internet connection. I recently bought some books that I lost in a move and I paid a fraction of what I paid originally. There are books that sold for $75 +, that you can purchased used, in brand new condition for less than $10.

Thanks, I’ve just been waiting it out, it was slightly retracted for a day or two, but looks mostly “normal” now.