RedSkaNite Posted September 8, 2002 Share Posted September 8, 2002 My new leather coral is sending out these long hairlike whips. They are spiderweb thin and covered with hairs that are even thinner. Every few seconds it retracts one (there are three) and then sends it out. It is really beautiful to watch. The problem is, these things are about 10" long!. One brushed accross my candy coral frag and it retracted in an instant. They brush against the star polyps all the time and don't seem to bother them at all. Are these things sweeper tentacles? Will they harm the stuff in my tank? It is hard to move stuff out of their way when you have a small tank....they are huge. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted September 8, 2002 Share Posted September 8, 2002 Soft corals don't have sweepers. Leathers are funky like that. They spew out all kinds of mucus and gunk. Maybe someone else can tell you exactly what it is. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted September 8, 2002 Share Posted September 8, 2002 could be a coeloplana. i think it's the larval stage of a comb jellyfish or something. they send out the strands with little comb teeth to snatch food from the water column. they're harmless. i've seen them often on softies (esp. sarcos). they're usually on the rocks where the corals are anchored but a couple of times i've seen them on the coral itself. i'm not sure if there's any type of commensural relationship but the frequency of finding them leads me to think it. Link to comment
RedSkaNite Posted September 8, 2002 Author Share Posted September 8, 2002 Hmm I had no idea. Anyway it's definatley not mucous. Its hairlike with regular appendages. Jellyfish larva? That is too cool. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.