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FAQs about Non-Vertebrate Animal Identification 15
Related Articles: Marine Invertebrates,
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 16,
Non-Vert IDs 17, 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, &
Non-Vert IDs 18,
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, | 
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ID Needed Please 4/10/06
Can anyone identify these things
crawling on the glass of my refugium?
<Are
juvenile/intermediates of polychaete worms>
They move at a good
pace and are about 1/16 of an inch. I don't see any shells. I hope
they are nothing bad. I just bought a
two spot blenny and put
him in the refugium yesterday and noticed these things tonight.
<Not bad... more beneficial>
Here is the link to the pictures
and drawing.
http://www.cupids-playground.com/unidentified%20worm.htm
Thanks in advance,
Mary O.
<Thanks for sending this
along. Bob Fenner> |  
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Tiny little starfish like bugs 4/9/06
I have
recently noticed several small bugs on the glass of my 46 gal reef
aquarium. It's only been setup for close to a month now. I have about
20 small hermit crabs, and about 15 snails, along with 50 lbs of live
rock, and a pretty deep sand bed. These bugs have a white center, with
what looks to be 8 to 12 hair like tentacles (also white). They are
only about 2mm in diameter (including the tentacles). Any idea what
they could be?
<Mmm, likely some sort of small species of polychaete
worms>
One other newbie question. Is there a recommended way to
vacuum the sandbed? Should one remove the rock, or just try to vacuum
around it as best as possible?
<Posted... on WWM. Read through the
Marine Maintenance areas or learn to/use the Google search tool, read
the cached versions (to highlight key terms...). Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Josh SW invert. ID 4/9/06
Can anyone identify these things crawling on the glass of my refugium?
<Would love to> They move at a good pace and are about 1/16 of an inch.
I don't see any shells. I hope they are nothing bad. I just bought a two
spot blenny and put him in the refugium yesterday and noticed these
things tonight.
Here is the link to the pictures and drawing.
http://www.cupids-playground.com/un...fied%20worm.htm
<I'm just
getting page not found. You haven't given enough info the be able to
determine without a pic. So can you fix the link and resend? Thanks,
Jen S.>
Thanks in advance,
Mary O.
Argh! Murder outside the tank!! Mainly invertebrate id's
4/9/06
I have some stars that need an ID before placement into my
tank ....I got this from the LPS and these hitched a ride not sure what
they are ...They closely resemble Ophiarachna or green serpent stars
...... I know that these can and will eat fish up on growth .....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081417a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081418a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081422a.jpg
<I wouldn't worry about these. Most brittle stars are harmless detritus
eaters. Very beneficial. As long as it doesn't get huge, you'll be
fine.>
I also killed a clam/oyster in this process not knowing that
is what it was due to the fact that it did not look anything like a
clam/oyster....I could have sworn that it was a rock so I tried to cut
it down to fit into my tank much to my surprise it was a clam/oyster of
some sort .So I have attached some of those pictures
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071396a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071397a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071400a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071402a.jpg
<I have to tell you that I am absolutely horrified by this. You have to
be extremely careful cutting into anything for your tank. It's all
alive, or has life in it (like in live rock). You can always run the
risk of damage, or in this case mortality. And with pliers too! Please
investigate thoroughly, don't make hasty decisions.>
Also can you
tell me are these yumas or Ricordeas
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071391a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071387a.jpg
<I believe they are Ricordeas. Please do research on our website on all
things you buy and put into your tank. The info here is
outstanding. Jen S.>
Thanks Bad Attitudes and
Horrible Replies - Murder Take II 4/10/06
>
Argh! Murder outside the tank!!
> I have some stars that need an ID
before placement into my tank ....I got
> this from the LPS and
these hitched a ride not sure what they are ...They
> closely
resemble Ophiarachna or green serpent stars ...... I know that
>
these can and will eat fish up on growth .....
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081417a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081418a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4081422a.jpg
> <I wouldn't worry about these. Most brittle stars are harmless
detritus
> eaters. Very beneficial. As long as it doesn't get
huge, you'll be fine.>
**thank you they were my biggest
concerned they will be added to the tank sometime today**
<<< You're
welcome>>>
> I also killed a clam/oyster in this process not knowing
that is what it
> was due to the fact that it did not look anything
like a clam/oyster....II
> could have sworn that it was a rock so I
tried to cut it down to fit into
> my tank much to my surprise it
was a clam/oyster of some sort .So I have
> attached some of those
pictures
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071396a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071397a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071400a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071402a.jpg
> <I have to tell you that I am absolutely horrified by this. You have
to
> be extremely careful cutting into anything for your tank. It's
all alive,
> or has life in it (like in live rock). You can always
run the risk of
> damage, or in this case mortality. And with
pliers too! Please
> investigate thoroughly, don't make hasty
decisions.>
**sorry that horrifies you however it was not a hasty
decision at all in fact it was covered in coralline algae . Tell me you
have never cut live rock etc. ,
or had a coral not make it your
system (unless you don't have salt water tanks)...So this will also
horrify you but we have a Dremel that we use .
Your site even
recommends using a sharp razor/exacto blade to "cut " to frag . If this
horrifies you I am sorry , that is part of the life cycle . You may
not agree with everyone's methods the same as most don't agree with the
way you folks answer at times . So unless you have NEVER made a mistake
hold the
criticism. I know you guys do this for free and its great
but you don't need to bash some one for something that can not be
conveyed in 1 stinking
email....Let me ask this one final thing
.......do you know 100% the details, unfortunately to don't I did not
have a before just the after , so before
you bash think that maybe
there was not malice involved *******
<<<Think about this fully -
without emotion and you will realize I wasn't horrified by what you did
per se, just that it happened. Nor was I even remotely bashing, just
giving advice. Everyone makes mistakes, believe me I've made my share,
and you'll make yours. I didn't like that it happened at all, but I
didn't really blame you either, just gave you what I would do
instead. I do agree about using a sharp tool to do the job - I just
didn't particularly like what I saw in the pictures, I'm sure you didn't
either, right?>>>
> Also can you tell me are these yumas or
Ricordeas
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071391a.jpg
>
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/kma570/Aquarium/P4071387a.jpg
> <I believe they are Ricordeas. Please do research on our website on
all
> things you buy and put into your tank. The info here is
outstanding. Jen
> S.>
**** Ricordeas huh pay dirt at !! I do
research all things that are even considered to go into my tank .You are
correct the info that is out there is
good but not organized , nor
all complete , and most of you have attitudes and bad ones to
boot....G'day***
<<<Alright then, yes, we all have our opinions here
- you have to remember we are providing you with a free service. We
donate our time to help others out. If you don't like what we all say,
which you've made clear you do not, you do not have to use this
service. Let us have more time for those who are appreciative then,
right? Have a wonderful day, Jen S.>>>
> Thanks
Live Rock/Hitchhikers 4/4/06
Hello. <Hello
Jenifer. Always liked that name.>
I have a small 6 gallon tank. In
my tank I have a long tipped anemone <Much too small a tank for
anemones.>
and three feather dusters (a Hawaiian feather duster and
two small colored ones) plus some live rock, crabs, and snails (no fish
at this point b/c I
had a small ick problem that killed my
clownfish). I went on vacation and when I returned I noticed a few new
creatures in my tank.
Baby Anemone?
Suddenly I notice that I
have a few (three or four) of what appear to be baby anemones. One is
living on one of my feather dusters' tube and the rest
are on the
live rock. They are a too small to take a picture of but they are pink
(a little larger then a pin) with small tentacles with little white
balls on them. The creature closes up just like an anemone when
something goes near it. It actually looks just like a baby
anemone. <Hard to say without
a pic. I'm guessing they are
Aiptasia, something you do not want.>
Unknown Critters - Please help
The other new critters in my tank look like small bugs that creep around
in
my live rock, corals, and around my feather dusters (the larger
ones being almost a centimeter, the smaller ones are a millimeter or
so). They are
whitish or brownish in color (whiter as they get
bigger) and almost look like worms (but crawl...so worms with legs) and
have two to three antennae
on their head. There seems to be quite a
few of these. Please help! <More than likely harmless
copepods/amphipods, will disappear when you add a fish since
they
are yummy to them. James (Salty Dog)>
Live Rock/Hitchhikers/Re: A tank full of unknown baby critters
- 04/05/2006
I looked at the pages on amphipods
and I am almost positive that is what the lil bugs are (the guy at the
fish store agrees also).
As far as the other critters (the ones that
look like baby anemones), I did a lot of reading and searching online
and it doesn't look anything like a
Aiptasia (or other pest anemones
that I saw online). Also it contracts when something swims by it (just
like my feather dusters). Unfortunately I was
not able to get a
picture with my camera. Is there anything else that u <you, no "u"s
Jen.> can think of that I can look at? Is there any way that it is a
baby feather
duster? <Unlikely> I am asking b/c <No b/c, because.>
it is on my feather duster's tube but it is a
different color. <Try
to capture it on camera Jen. James (Salty Dog)>
Regards, Jen
Pink Stinger? - 04/04/06
Hi,
<<Hello>>
I am wondering if
you can help identify something in our marine tank.
<<Tough to do
without a photo, and even then sometimes...>>
We can see what looks
like a small (1/2inch) pink balloon type thing under a small rock
tunnel. (it looks like the bluebottles we have in Australia but we can't
see tentacles)
<<Possibly a sponge or tunicate. Very unlikely to be
a jellyfish...and probably more unlikely to be a Portuguese Man-of-War
(bluebottle).>>
We have had a coral beauty and a tang die of no
apparent cause recently.
<<Probably unrelated.>>
Could this be
some type of stinger, or a plant growth?
<<Most likely an encrusting
sponge, or some other innocuous organism.>>
We don't want to pull
the rocks apart unless necessary.
<<I don't think you need worry
mate.>>
Thanks Megan
<<Regards, EricR>>
Hitchhiker ID 4/1/06
Hello. I just bought a hammer coral
earlier today, and found a little hitchhiker swimming around the bag
that
I was hoping you might be able to help me identify. The
closest thing I can compare it to is an Aiptasia
anemone, except
it swims around by pulsing it's tentacles.
<A medusoid rather
than polypoid animal...>
On the body, it looks like it may have
a small siphon that it uses for propulsion, like a squid.
<Perhaps a salp... a swimming sea squirt of sorts>
I don't see
any eyes or other features. It's so small it's hard to tell. The
longest tentacle is a little under a quarter inch. I got as good of
a photo as I could for something so tiny. Right now I have it
isolated in a small cup with fine mesh netting over the top to keep
it from swimming into the tank. I don't think it would harm anything
if I just dumped it in the tank (probably be eaten by a fish pretty
quickly), I'm just interested in learning what it is before I decide
where to put it.
Thanks again, Kevin
<Mmm, don't know... but
is neat! If it were me, mine, I'd "risk" putting it back in the
system... Bob Fenner> | 
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Sponge? Yep 3/25/06
Crew,
Can you help me ID this (see
pics)? I think it is some type of sponge, solid but kind of rubbery to
the touch. Would you recommend removing or leaving it?
<The latter>
I sent you this via a different email about a week or so ago and did not
receive a response so I thought I would try again.
<Appreciate
this... more and more getting lost>
Thanks for all you guys do.
Vince
<Welcome. Bob Fenner> | 
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Help with id 3/24/06
Hello. I'm resending this because I
haven't gotten a response, and I'm not sure if it went through. AOL's
somewhat unreliable with attachments. Sorry if I'm duplicating an email
that is sitting in someone's in box.
Thank you for your help and
your wonderful website!
--Original message--
Hi. I was wondering
if you may be able to identify this white-ish stuff on one of my live
rocks. I'm not sure what it is or how to care for it. It's soft to the
touch and feels sort of velvety. Here's a picture.
--update--
Since I originally sent this, the 'stuff' in question has started to
turn a dusky gray. If you can help me with ID, perhaps I can care for
it!
Thank You.
<Are some sort of Syconoid sponge... Please see
here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/spongeidfaqs.htm
Bob Fenner> | 
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Unidentified Creature 3/20/06
Hi
I recently got a rock
nearly completely covered in button polyps. One of the polyps isn't
actually a polyp, it seems to be some animal camouflaged as one. This
animal is either hiding under a trap door that looks like a polyp or its
back looks like a polyp. Every once and a while one side of the "polyp"
lifts and yellowish antennas/arms are visible. Even stranger today I
noticed a slime-like thread coming from this creature. Looking at it
closer the animal appeared to using the thread to feed, releasing it
then later, after various particles/detritus became stuck it pulling it
back in, then releasing it clean again. Any idea what this could be, I
have tried searching the Internet and your website and cant find
anything about
this.
Thanks
-Zach
<Is most likely a
species of tube-dwelling polychaete worm or a tubiculous snail. Not
harmful. Bob Fenner>
Unknown Creature living in Tank... 3/19/06
Dear Crew,
<Helana>
A few months ago, I noticed a strange tube like stem
growing out from one of the branches of my "clove polyp" corals.
(It's hard to see where the origin of this creature is coming
from) It is extremely hard to the touch, and has a little creature
with 2 antennae popping out and secreting a web like thready
substance. (Looks like the antennae of say, a snail or something
like that) The tube seems to be growing longer with time. I
thought it was pretty cool at first. But now, it seems that the
thread/web like secretion that it is emitting may be bothering my
clove polyps.
<Might...>
The polyps seems to be slowly
disappearing or staying closed. I'm not sure if the clove polyps
are suffering because of this unknown creature, or if they are
unrelated events. Do you have any idea what this unknown creature
is, or if it is bad for my tank/inhabitants?
<Is very likely a
species of tubiculous polychaete... a tubeworm of the phylum
Annelida... there are thousands of such species... Could be a
tube-building snail...>
Actually, as I just began to take some
photos of this tube like creature, I think it is actually secreting
this thread like web above to the clove
polyps and using it as a
net to pull off the polyps and eat them. This can't be good can
it? How do I get rid of this thing, can I just break the tube off
and throw it away? Oy very..
<You could... but I would likely
just leave it unless it is really bothering you. Bob Fenner>
Thanks for your time,
Helana Gelleri |
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Sponges And Algae - 03/17/2006
Hi,
<Hello Matt.>
Can
you give me any information on the two pictures attached. One photo
is of a brown plant in my 75 gallon tank. It appeared quickly and is
growing rapidly. Is it a Caulerpa?
<Can't really make out in the
picture, but does appear to be an algae of some sort.>
The other
photo is of some sort of cocoon in my 30 gallon tank.
<This one
is a sponge, nothing to worry about.>
It gets big and retracts
on a daily basis and at times has long fine "arms" protruding from
it. Both specimens are anchored to the live rock. Thank you in
advance for your help.
Matt
<Sorry for the brief response
but have a "full plate" this AM. - Josh> |  
|
Carnivores Loose in my tank? Worm and snail IDs 3/15/06
Hey
there, I have a few questions for you. I have search your site and
found a few answers but none directly about these.
First, I
have bristleworms in my tank and including extensive research on Rob T's
sites, I have not found an exact picture of this worm.
<There are
thousands of species...>
I found it out on google, but it was just a
picture and no indication if it was carnivorous or not. I have a ton of
these in my tank and have successfully captured the large ones,
including the one in the picture I have attached. Can you confirm if it
is carnivorous?
<Cannot from the images provided... but would not
discount such a notion based simply on the size...>
Second, there
is an unidentified snail in my tank which seems to normally come out at
night. I have captured it here, and I have not been able to identify it
with any of your articles. It has a blue hue to it and I am concerned
it might also be causing harm to my mushroom or others (I've pictured
the mushroom as well, it's now more white that green). I ready of the
type of snail that is harmful to corals (bull snail?) and I did remove
one of those, but I wasn't sure if this other snail was harmful as well,
it's beautiful and I would like to keep it.
I appreciate all
your help!
<Again, can't make out enough detail from the images
provided. If you are concerned, see evidence of damage, I'd remove this
animal. Bob Fenner> | 
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