zoa colony intruder

[Mastertrcky]

not sure what this is but it doesnt look too good.. any ID help would be great.. also thoughts on what to do if it is bad.

 

[MKOTAR]

if you have revive or coral rx I'd give it a good strong dip to be safe

 

[revhtree]

Hmmm not sure what that might be.

 

[Russellaqua]

It looks kinda like a small cowrie to me. Really not sure if it is though. They're a type of algae-eating snail whose mantle often covers the top of the shell when it is out and feeding. They can have those protrusions too. The thing that concerns me is that those protrusions seem like they're attached to the polyps, and that shouldn't happen with a cowrie. Does this thing move at all and does it seem to have a hard shell? Weird weird weird...

 

[Netta Fish]

Sponge.

 

[ladyreefer1983]

get rid of it...it might be invasive or would harm the zoas or even your tank

 

[Cruezn]

I can't tell what it is either, but am inclined to say its a sponge. For me, when in doubt, I remove it. I'd cut it/scrape it off, do a coral dip in revive or something similar, place back in tank and watch it. Just my $.02 worth.

 

[mikeytags5]

That is some weird alien stuff. Crazy what kind of creatures we find in our tanks.

 

[Pkunk35]

It looks kinda like a small cowrie to me. Really not sure if it is though. They're a type of algae-eating snail whose mantle often covers the top of the shell when it is out and feeding. They can have those protrusions too. The thing that concerns me is that those protrusions seem like they're attached to the polyps, and that shouldn't happen with a cowrie. Does this thing move at all and does it seem to have a hard shell? Weird weird weird...

+1, i would be concerned over those protrusions as well since they are attached to polyps like that and might impede growth but I am not sure what it is.

Do the zoas seem to be bothered by it or do they still open normally?

 

[KLR]

The tubed feet-like parts make me want to believe that it is in the Echinoderm family. Does it have really small spines on it of any kind? Are the "feet" moving or always stuck in the same spots?

 

[Mastertrcky]

It's always in the the same spot. It does have tentacles all over it's body and I have seen them feel around and It looks like it might be pulling on the polyps a little but the still are opening up for now. And it does look to be spongish, no shell that I can see. It's just brown, looks to be soft, with a bunch of tentacles... It's very bizarre.