Nuisance anemone    1/17/06
Dear WWM crew,
<Hi Julia, Mich with you today.>
First of all, thank you all for any previous advice you have given me over the last couple of years.  Thank you for the fabulous web site.  You guys (and gals) are awesome!
<Thank you for your most kind words!>
I have a quick ID question for you.  I know you guys need to see pictures to know for sure, but a picture is not feasible right now.  
<Would be most helpful.>
I just bought some "used" liverock and it has these tiny anemones on it.  They do not look like Aiptasia to me.  They look more like Majano, except they are perfectly clear, no tint of color whatsoever.  Just the very tips of the tentacles are whitish (and slightly swollen, from what I can tell).  Can they be bleached Majano, or is this another species?  The outer tentacles are also a little longer than what I am used to in Majano (almost like they are half way between Aiptasia and Majano anemone, or they look almost like a clear dwarf sun coral polyp, just shape-wise that is).  Does this ring a bell?  
<Really impossible to tell with out a photo.  Many possibilities here, including many desirable creatures, could even be something like a orange ball Corallimorph (Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum)...do a google image search on this.>
And should I do anything about these?  Until now I have had NO pest anemones (my liverock was reseeded from scratch, so to speak), but if these guys are "bad" I would rather not give them the chance to spread.  
<Understandable, but if they are desirable I don't want to tell you to eradicate them... thus the reason we ask for images.>
My tank is not terribly nutrient rich, but as it is a softie tank I do not want to get it too clean :)
<I hear you.>
Thank you all again for your help and have a wonderful week :)
<Welcome and wishing you the same.  -Mich>
Sincerely,
Julia.

Re: Nuisance Anemone...No, Desirable Hitchhiker... Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum   1/19/07
Mich,
You are amazing :)
<Heehe!  And you are funny!>
I did an image search on google, just like you told me, and Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum indeed does look like my guy :).  
<Lucky you!  It is not sold in the hobby that I'm aware of.>  
Except that mine has white balls, not orange.  
<Yep.>
I guess I will have to do a bit of research on these creatures since I have never ever encountered them.
<Hitchhiking nocturnal filter feeders.>
I just found a picture of it on your web site (I am attaching it, I hope you don't mind), that is almost exactly like mine.
<Very good.>
Thank you so much and have a great day!
<Welcome and the same to you!  -Mich>
Julia

General Questions?? 12/22/06
I have a tank that is 5 months old . My domino damsel is approx. 3 inches  and appears to be losing his color, there is a invasion of red algae. and there are Condylactis anemones popping up all over the place there are 8 of them so far.
<Mmm, don't know if your telling me something or asking for info.  Anyway, Domino Damsels do fade with age/growth and can get rather large.
The red algae is more than likely Cyanobacteria.  Do read here.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm.  As for the Condylactis Anemones, I'm quite sure you are seeing the dreaded Aiptasia Anemones which multiply like mice.  There are methods for controlling this species.  Do search our site for this info.  James (Salty Dog)>

Anemone Identification - 10/19/2006
Good afternoon!
<Hey Al, MacL here with you today. Sorry for the delay. Lots of emails coming in lately.>
I thoroughly enjoy the site, I've gotten quite a bit of excellent information, not the least of which is to be patient.
<So true!>
Now on to the reason I'm emailing you.  I'm getting conflicting information - can you help me ID this anemone?
Some say it's a BTA (E. Quadricolor), some say it's a Condylactis, I see on your site that they're both in the same order, and *I* think it looks like a Condylactis (note the purple-ish spot on the ends of the tentacles).  Here's a pic: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a72/getndirty/IMG_0414.jpg
<Its difficult to tell from the picture. One thing though, you said it was found on a rock and that will sometimes give you a clue until it grows large enough to determine. Where is the rock from? Atlantic Gulf? or Pacific?  If its Atlantic gulf it more than likely a Condylactis.>
Either way, it was found in my girlfriend's 105g tank while doing some aquascaping to make room for some new inhabitants.  No telling how long it had been there under a rock, out of the light.  It's now in my QT and I'm going to attempt to help it along - any tips here would be greatly appreciated.
<The greatest stuff is the hitchhikers isn't it?  I'd watch it for a while and you should be able to tell as it gets a little bit larger.>
Many thanks for the help!  
<It is very pale, probably from the light it had. I think its going to be fun to watch.>
<<Unfortunately, the image has been accidentally deleted from our mail system.  -SCF>>