Anyone know what this thing is?

[Jerad81]

I found this thing growing a couple weeks ago and honestly didn't think it would last this long. I originally thought it was just a larger version of those little feather dusters that pop up occasionally but I'm no longer convinced. I've witnessed those tentacles/fingers reach out and grab fish food from the water so I know it eats meaty food. Otherwise it doesn't bother anything in the tank, at least not yet, and doesn't move around. It has definitely peeked my curiosity though. Has anyone else seen these before or know what it is?

[rough eye]

if i'm not mistaken it's an aiptasia. kill it before it reproduces and you have bunches of them. I used F Aiptasia= just bury him in the stuff and leave it for a week or so - or for good.

[WV Reefer]

18 minutes ago, Jerad81 said:

I found this thing growing a couple weeks ago and honestly didn't think it would last this long. I originally thought it was just a larger version of those little feather dusters that pop up occasionally but I'm no longer convinced. I've witnessed those tentacles/fingers reach out and grab fish food from the water so I know it eats meaty food. Otherwise it doesn't bother anything in the tank, at least not yet, and doesn't move around. It has definitely peeked my curiosity though. Has anyone else seen these before or know what it is?

Definitely aiptasia. Carefully remove it and look for others. 

[Jerad81]

15 minutes ago, rough eye said:

if i'm not mistaken it's an aiptasia. kill it before it reproduces and you have bunches of them. I used F Aiptasia= just bury him in the stuff and leave it for a week or so - or for good.

 

4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Definitely aiptasia. Carefully remove it and look for others. 

Wow, so that's what aiptasia looks like. I guess I should have asked about it when it first popped up instead of watching it out of curiosity lol. I guess I learned my lesson on that one. Thanks for letting me know!

[WV Reefer]

49 minutes ago, Jerad81 said:

 

Wow, so that's what aiptasia looks like. I guess I should have asked about it when it first popped up instead of watching it out of curiosity lol. I guess I learned my lesson on that one. Thanks for letting me know!

The first time I saw one, I was all like “look at this cool thing in my new reef”. 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

It should be easy to remove since it is in the substrate...... just scoop it out. 

[Jerad81]

58 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

The first time I saw one, I was all like “look at this cool thing in my new reef”. 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

It should be easy to remove since it is in the substrate...... just scoop it out. 

Yeah, it came out really easy. I finally found a use for one of my massive table spoons that I almost never touch!

[Tired]

It's too bad aiptasia are invasive; they're kinda neat. If you'd like something that grabs food from the water similarly, keep an eye out for Captain Jerks palythoas at a cheap price. They have a pretty strong feeding response. They're also somewhat invasive, but don't spawn and pop up everywhere like aiptasia do- they can easily be contained on a rock in the sand. They just grow fast.

[Jerad81]

7 hours ago, Tired said:

It's too bad aiptasia are invasive; they're kinda neat. If you'd like something that grabs food from the water similarly, keep an eye out for Captain Jerks palythoas at a cheap price. They have a pretty strong feeding response. They're also somewhat invasive, but don't spawn and pop up everywhere like aiptasia do- they can easily be contained on a rock in the sand. They just grow fast.

Yeah, I'll look into those, thanks for the info! After looking up aiptasia and seeing other pics of it, I clearly got an ugly version of it. Probably a good thing or I may have never asked about it until it started taking my tank over.

[king aiptasia]

Aiptasia, most reefers get rid of them but ya know, they always come back. some corals aren't bothered by them, some are. I dont have any corals so i grow them as the centerpiece of my tanks.