White polyp thing with short tentacles

[pammins]

Good morning all, I have tried finding this thing on all the ID sites and am not having any luck- it would appear a community college marine biology class about the Monterey Bay 15 years ago is insufficient for IDing reef creatures, who knew?

Anyway, I'm sure these things are incredibly common and this is a dumb question but I'm stymied- I lack even the most basic familiarity with most sea inverts. I was thinking it could be a tunicate but I'm not sure. As seen in the picture, it has a "mouth" fringed by short tentacles and it can open and shut itself, drawing the tentacles in so that it looks like, hm, a sphincter.

 

 

Thanks in advance, i really appreciate it. This site is a real wealth of knowledge and has helped me immeasurably already. I'm sure I'll have more questions, tragedies, and triumphs (hopefully) to share in the coming weeks, months, years.

[Joevember]

Probably some sort of majano.

[patback]

Where is the rock from, if it is maricultured?  

[pammins]

That's a good question Pat, I'm not sure. I can call the shop to ask. Would the answer to that be a significant differential? 

[patback]

21 minutes ago, pammins said:

That's a good question Pat, I'm not sure. I can call the shop to ask. Would the answer to that be a significant differential? 

Just points us into a direction.

 

It's hard to tell, is there a skeletal structure?  Or all soft?

[patback]

If the rock is indeed sourced from the gulf, it could be phyllangia americana. (If there is a skeleton)  Try checking how many rows of tendrils there are.

[pammins]

21 minutes ago, patback said:

Just points us into a direction.

 

It's hard to tell, is there a skeletal structure?  Or all soft?

Feels soft entirely, but I was somewhat reluctant to really smush any of them too hard lest they be friendly. 

I'll call the LFS when I can to find out more. 

Thanks a ton. 

 

EDIT: The live rock I got is a mix of rock from other owners tanks (is that weird? it seems weird!) and something called Pukani rock, from an island in the south pacific apparently. So... literally anywhere in the world is probably the source? 

[CCDillon]

It honestly looks like a bleached Palythoa polyp. I would turn the rock to where this polyps gets more light and see if it colors up. 

[MrObscura]

Doesn't look like a paly at all to me. Looks more like some sort of nps coral. 

 

And whatever it, is if anything it looks like it's gotten too much light. But that might just be its color. 

[pammins]

Interesting, I was starting to go in the direction of some kind of coral as well. I don't think light, excessive or otherwise, is necessarily to blame but I could be wrong. I;m using the stock lighting that came with the Nanocube 28 and there are a number of them actually, all up and down the vertical face of the rock. Some are in crevices, others are atop outcroppings. I've taken more pictures

 

 

[MrObscura]

Now they actually do look like some sort of zoa/paly. Lol

[patback]

I'm still saying it seems to be some sort of nps coral.  My hidden cups, when I had them, would be bone white when shaded and took on a mottled brown/rusty orange when exposed to any sort of light after a week or so. 

Keep us updated if you can find an answer on your own.  @RayWhisperer. What do you think?

[RayWhisperer]

4 hours ago, patback said:

 

@RayWhisperer. What do you think?

Lol. I'm not sure. It looks more like some type of anemone to me. Looking at the foot area. But that's just a guess. 

 

Also, dont bother to @ me. I dont have that shit turned on. I just happened to stumble in here.

[pammins]

Guy at the LFS thought it looked like a tunicate, but I can't find anything that looks like it. 

I hope whatever they are, they're getting enough food unless they're bad in which case I don't hope that at all

[Joevember]

Touch one and tell us how it reacts. Probably not a tunicate either.

[RayWhisperer]

It's certainly not a tunicate. That much o can assure you.

[pammins]

1 hour ago, Joevember said:

Touch one and tell us how it reacts. Probably not a tunicate either.

It closed up! Pulled itself in and became, as my wife described it, "a little butthole". I think that describes it pretty well

[Oldsalt01]

As your wife describes it so eloquently (lol), sure sounds and looks like some sort of 'nem. I've seen similar, much bigger, things when diving up in the Northeast, but those are coldwater 'nem species. Following.

[pammins]

1 minute ago, Oldsalt01 said:

As your wife describes it so eloquently (lol), sure sounds and looks like some sort of 'nem. I've seen similar, much bigger, things when diving up in the Northeast, but those are coldwater 'nem species. Following.

That's wild actually, I'm from Monterey and have spent many many many hours at the MBA and now that you mention it, it DOES look like cold water anemones. My tank is at about 81 degrees though, the rock has always been in water of about that temperature, and they are growing and actually maybe multiplying. I will keep you guys posted on these things. Should I buy some pods to feed them? At this point, I'm kind of more interested in them than having anything they might hurt, or vice versa, at least until we have a definite answer. I love a mystery!

[pammins]

Just wanted to update the thread that whatever these guys are, they're thriving and seemingly multiplying all over the piece of LR they are on, but doesn't seem to be spreading to the other rocks. They definitely are discrete individual polyps though. Took some photos to the LFS who sold me the rock and asked the employees and they narrowed them down to "polyps" which thanks. 

I really really doubt it but could they be the polyp stage of some kind of jelly? I guess that makes even less sense. 

Whatever the case, I've started adding some livestock and I hope everyone can play nice! 

[RayWhisperer]

I'm far from knowing much about jellies. However, all that I've seen go through what's called a "budding polyp" stage. It's like a tiny polyp that stacks up crowns as it grows. Those crowns pop free and developed into adult jellyfish. That's not what I'm seeing here. 

 

Try focusing on individual polyps for a few days. See if they move at all.

[pammins]

Hey guys, not much of an update- I got some LEDs and these guys sort of flouresce (sp?) under the blue lights. They don't seem to have moved at all from their base, but the polyps seem to maybe change angle somewhat? Sometimes I can clearly see the center of the disc, other times it is pointed away from me. The center has, forgive my uneducated vocabulary, a small central nubbin. Just looks like a tiny white dot. I've not noticed it every time I've looked, but I haven't always thought to check either.

I've started adding some corals and a sea cucumber so I am going to get some reef roids and I'll try target feeding these guys a little bit when it comes. I'm also going to be setting up a little fuge and hope to grow a colony of pods for him and my red scooter dragonet.

 I do see them closed up periodically so I presume they are eating something. 

Anyway, doubt this will help much but I wanted to keep everyone apprised, some of you seemed interested. 

[RayWhisperer]

Can't make heads or tails with the blue from the LEDs. I know it's been said before, but under the LEDs, it does look like a zoa or paly. But looking back at the other pics, I just dont see it. It looks more like a nem in those pics. This one is a mystery.

[pammins]

Does that mean I win a prize? :) 

I can take pictures with different lighting configs, Ray, what would be most helpful? 

[pammins]

Here are some new photos- as you can see their tentacles seem to be elongating. Also there is a little color developing on them after I had upgraded my lighting as patback suggested might happen with NPS's. 

It;s hard to photograph but they definitely grow on stalks that seem to be extending in length.