Pest anemone? Zoas?

[SmorgishBorg]

Hey guys, I’ve had this little tank for a while to hold me over until I got a bigger tank. That being said, I’ve been watching these things grow on the live rock I purchased from the store probably six months ago. When I bought it, there was no sign of these. Now there’s a pretty large colony. I’ve been trying to find out what they are and if they may cause any harm before I decide to put them in the new tank or to get rid of them. Anyone have any idea?

[patback]

Palythoa most likely.  What's the base of the polyps look like?  They can be aggressive and overgrow neighboring corals. 

[Ratvan]

Palythoa I would have thought, what lighting do you have on them?

[SmorgishBorg]

1 hour ago, patback said:

Palythoa most likely.  What's the base of the polyps look like?  They can be aggressive and overgrow neighboring corals. 

They are a long cylindrical base that looks separate from one another. They react quickly to a small tap on the back of the tank near them. I actually think they’re super cool looking. Maybe I’ll break that portion of them off the rock and isolate them in the sand bed in the new tank.

[Ratvan]

8 minutes ago, SmorgishBorg said:

They are a long cylindrical base that looks separate from one another. They react quickly to a small tap on the back of the tank near them. I actually think they’re super cool looking. Maybe I’ll break that portion of them off the rock and isolate them in the sand bed in the new tank.

Like a venus fly trap? Or more of a curl into the centre?

[SmorgishBorg]

8 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Like a venus fly trap? Or more of a curl into the centre?

Curl into the center

[jambon]

If these are palys be careful handling them... they are very toxic if disturbed. I would do as you say and isolate them on a separate live rock.