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FAQs about Non-Vertebrate Animal Identification
21 Related Articles:
Marine Invertebrates, Marine
Invertebrate Systems, Marine
Invertebrate Compatibility, Marine
Invertebrate Disease, Marine
Invertebrate Reproduction,
Quarantine of Corals and Invertebrates,
Feeding Reef Invertebrates,
Lighting Marine Invertebrates,
Water Flow, How Much is Enough,
Related FAQs: Non-Vert IDs 1,
Non-Vert IDs 2, Non-Vert IDs 3,
Non-Vert IDs 4, Non-Vert IDs 5,
Non-Vert IDs 6,
Non-Vert IDs 7, Non-Vert
IDs 8,
Non-Vert IDs 9,
Non-Vert IDs 10, Non-Vert IDs 11,
Non-Vert IDs 12, Non-Vert IDs 13,
Non-Vert IDs 14, Non-Vert IDs 15,
Non-Vert IDs 16, Non-Vert IDs 17,
Non-Vert IDs 18, Non-Vert. ID 19,
Non-Vert. ID 20, Non-Vert. ID 21,
Non-Vert. ID 22, Non-Vert. ID 23,
Non-Vert. ID 24,
Non-Vert. ID 25, Non-Vert ID 26,
Non-Vert ID 27, Non-Vert ID 28,
Non-Vert ID 29, Non-Vert ID 30
Non-Vert ID 31, Non-Vert ID 32,
Non-Vert 33, Non-Vert ID 34,
Non-Vert ID 35, Non-Vert ID 36,
Non-Vert ID 37, Non-Vert ID 38,
Non-Vert ID 39, Non-Vert ID 40,
Non-Vert ID 41, Non-Vert ID 42, &
Marine Invertebrates,
Marine Invert.s 2, Marine Invert.s 3,
& FAQs about: Marine Invertebrate
Behavior, Marine Invertebrate
Compatibility, Marine Invertebrate
Selection, Marine Invertebrate
Systems, Feeding Reef Invertebrates,
Marine Invertebrate Disease,
Marine Invertebrate Reproduction, &
LR Life Identification, LR
Hitchhiker ID 1, Anemone
Identification,
Aiptasia Identification, Aiptasia ID
2, Worm Identification,
Tubeworm ID, Polychaete
Identification, Snail Identification,
Marine Crab Identification, Marine
Invert.s 1, Marine Invert.s 2,
Marine Plankton, | 
All living marine systems have a myriad of worms species living in
their substrates. |
More creatures, Blurry Photos, ID Possibly Aiptasia, Mini Stars and
Unknowns 2/28/07
Hi there
<Hi Faye, Mich here.>
I’ve been lurking on your website and have looked all over the place
and I still can’t find any information or pictures of the creatures
I’m trying to identify, so I’ve added some photos to show you which
I took with my phone and a magnifying glass!
<Ho
buoy! Blurrreee!!!>
The first one has a creature on it which
I'm struggling to make my mind up whether its an evil anemone or a
sort of tube worm, its about 4mm diameter on a fat stalk and they
retract when touched they are quite transparent too,
<I think
this is an Aiptasia anemone. I would make an effort to remove it
from your system. More here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/aiptasia/aiptasia.htm and
here
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/aiptasia_impressions/aiptaisia_impressions.htm >
In the picture with it is a blob which has appeared a couple of days
ago and looks like a triangular shaped rock on a stalk! It is only
about 3mm wide by about the same tall.
<I really can't tell from
your description and the photo. I'm sorry.>
The next one is a
colony of polyps which are about 3mm diameter each and are orange
coloured with a black centre, they have a thin stalk and are quite
flowery in appearance also they appear to be sending out some sort
of runner for reproduction although I’m not sure.
<Again, I'm
really not sure.>
I’m constantly amazed with all the different
creatures coming out of my live rock!
<Amazing isn't it?>
I’m pretty new to marine life and find it fascinating.
<Yes.>
There’s a creature in there too that I can’t get a picture of, it
looks like approximately 5 small stripy tentacles hanging out of my
rock about 5mm long, it keeps moving round the rock and popping up
in different locations.
<Likely a Striped Micro Brittle Star
(Ophiactis) or an mini serpent Star (Amphipholis) both beneficial
additions which will hopefully reproduce in you system.>
Anyway
I hope someone can help me and I apologize for the rubbish
photographs!
<Yes, Perhaps a camera with a macro setting would
help here. Though good idea to try the magnifying glass. I realize
these creatures are quite tiny, but the photos, well, I wish they
were a little clearer.>
I had a better one of the orange
polyps but it seems to have disappeared from my computer!
<Ghost
in the machine?>
My rock came from Fiji if that helps at all.
Thanks in advance
<Welcome, Sorry I couldn't be of more
help. -Mich>
Faye (In England)
PS Have found that Red Sea
salt is rubbish the calcium is far too low hence why I have changed
to Instant Ocean, much better!
<Noted.> |
.jpg) |
Aiptasia or Tube Anemone? Neither, ID Feather Duster 2/28/07
<Hi Dan, Mich with you tonight.>
I really hate asking you
another tube anemone or Aiptasia anemone question, after reading so
much on your site. But none of the pics available really matched
this.
<Is neither an Aiptasia nor a tube anemone>
This is
white, comes out of a tube, and so far is the only "Visible" one in
the display.
<Is a Polychaete worm, a Sabellid, commonly called
a fan worm or feather duster.
I am hoping it is a tube
anemone, but fearing it is Aiptasia. It moves pretty quickly into
its tube when a fish comes around it. My copperband swims right by
and ignores it.
<That good. Feather dusters are a welcome
addition to your tank.>
Thanks for a better ID, and sorry for
wasting your time if it turns out it is Aiptasia.
<No worries,
never a waste, always best to know what you’re dealing with. -Mich>
DanH | 
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Live creatures of some sort, someplace... 2/28/07
<Hi
there, Mich here.>
I keep seeing live "worms" in my tank. They
float around and sometimes attach to the sides for a while. They are
slightly thicker than a hair and about 1/2 cm in length. Are they
dangerous? (All my levels are normal according to the "dipstick.")
<Ummm, yeah, so uh, where to begin. I haven't quite mastered those
psychic powers yet so I'll have to say I'm not even sure if you have a
fresh or a salt water tank here. If you can provide a little more
information, and perhaps a photo, someone may be able to help you figure
out what you are dealing with. -Mich>
Thanks!
Look's like a Chiton - about 6 inches... images an order of
magnitude too large... PLEASE> FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!!! – 2/26/07
I own a copy of your book as it saved me when I first got my tank
from making a lot of mistakes. I have elevated my knowledge in the
last year alone and added two more tanks to my system and have used
some GARF products to help to boost my tanks performance.
<Brad,
you've crashed our server...>
We had a power outage for over 24
hours and I kept as many of my fish alive as possible. In the end I
lost two including a black clown that was being eaten by a crab in
the picture. I usually would not let the crab eat a fish, but I
wanted him to leave the sluggish tired fish alone in the tank as my
batteries had run out and a generator was still hours away.
I
found this critter doing a hot lap past the crab and clown that
appeared to be a chiton. I was curious though as it changed color
to a darker brown and kind of green one subsection at a time right
as it approached the crab eating the fish. I watched in
anticipation, but in the end it just kept scooting on out of
site. I have never seen this guy before and he is fairly
substantial in size.
I took 32 pictures of this guy, these are
some of the clearer ones since I was shooting through the gals of
the tank. I didn't want to take him out since he appeared harmless
to my tank inhabitants. That is until proven guilty as I have been
removing Zoos from this tank since they were not fairing well for
some reason?
Let me know what you think,
Brad
<Is a
Chiton. Bob Fenner> | 
|
Tunicate or what?? The Answer Would be "or What." 2/23/07
Hi
<Hello Judy, Mich with you tonight.>
I've been reading your forum
for over a year since I first started my Fish with Live Rock
Tank. Yesterday I bought your book - Reef Invertebrates (great book!)
hoping to find a critter I first found several months ago but no
luck.
<A beautiful informative book, I'd agree.>
It is on my
live rock, at times just a tiny pin-point of a white
belly-button. Then it will open almost like a flower; when fully open
it is a bit less than 1/8" across. When startled, it will close back up
and just look like a very tiny white speck. It opens in both light and
in the dark.
This is a picture I found on the web at this website:
http://depts.washington.edu/fhlk12/StudentProjects/Tun.biology.html
<OK.>
Tunicates covering rope My little "thing" looks about like
the white flower in the middle except mine is on the live rock and when
it 'disappears' it is nearly impossible to see.
<If it moves, is not
a Tunicate.> <<If it is the "yellow thing" with two apparent vents...
this is a Tunicate/Ascidian... do not "walk", but many species can/do
shrink/expand appreciably. RMF>>
I just love it . I'd like to know
what it is.
<It sounds like a polyp of some sort or possibly an
anemone, sorry I can't be more helpful here.>
Thanks.
Judi
<Welcome, -Mich> | Re: Tunicate
or what?? The Answer Would be "or What." 2/25/07
Thanks
for the fast reply.
<You're quite welcome.>
I'll go look
for info on polyps and anemones.
<The photo you supplied was
that of a known tunicate, but not that of the actual creature in
your tank. The behavior you described "opens almost like a flower"
and "When startled, it will close back up and just look like a very
tiny white speck" sounds more like the actions of a polyp or anemone
to me. That being said, Bob did note on the daily FAQ's page the
following: "If it is the 'yellow thing' with two apparent vents...
this is a Tunicate/Ascidian... do not "walk", but many species
can/do shrink/expand appreciably. RMF." There are many
possibilities here. If you can get a decent macro shot of your
actual creature, someone may be able to provide an ID. Otherwise
it's just more of a guess. Good Luck! -Mich>
Judi | 
|
White root like plant? algae? Bryozoan 2/22/07
Hello guys! Hope
you are all well today. Just a quick question and here are a few
pictures as well.
<Okay>
The tank is a 33 gallon with 38 lbs of
Fiji live rock. The LR was taken from an established 210G that was being
dismantled, it was a steal at $4 a pound. The rock was out of the water
for under an hour and it's barely produced much of a cycle. After two
weeks of no traces of ammonia nor nitrite, only 10 ppm nitrates the
first week, we added a clean up crew with an assortment of astrea,
margarita and Nassarius snails and also some blue leg and left handed
hermits.
We cleaned off any die-off from the rock before we placed
it in the tank but these white root like things have stayed and there
are probably about 5-10 different root things over all the rock
combined. Each one ranges from about 1/4 inch tall to 3/4 inch tall at
the biggest. I haven't been able to find any mention of these root
things on the internet...please help! I hope the pictures help with the
identification.
Thanks very much for your time!
Eva
<My
first guess is some sort of Bryozoan... second is perhaps a "stringy"
sort of sponge... In either case, not deleterious... and will likely
pass in a few months... succession. Bob Fenner> | 
|
Dendro spawn, Nope...Tunicate 2/22/07
Dear WWM,
<Hello
Joe! Mich here.>
Such a great site for reference.
<Glad you
think so!>
I have a Dendro coral with 7 heads that has been in my
tank for 2 1/2 months. I have been waiting for it to produce a new head
on the colony, but no luck. It doesn't help that I have an Aiptasia on
it, had 2 one crawled off and I sucked it up, and Valonia on it.
<Yikes!>
However, a close look on my porites Christmas rock not too
far away revealed a small orange thing. It is oval, clear with an
orange tint, and looks to have 2 small holes on the top. I have not
seen any tentacles. We did have an ice storm where the power was off
for several hours, wrapped the tank in towels to keep warm and only lost
a degree. Could it be a spawned baby, and is this one of the stages
the planula larvae goes through. Thank you for your time. Attached are
2 photos.
<Sorry no baby here. Looks like a Tunicate or sea squirt
to me. More here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ascidfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ascidians.htm
-Mich>
-Joe |
 |
Photo i.d. 2/18/07
Hi all.
Hope you can help me
correctly identify.
Tampa Bay, Florida U.S.A.
Thanks,
Mark
<A sponge, Poriferan of some sort. BobF> | 
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