Anyone bringing Berghia's to the swap?

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14096130#post14096130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dagermain
does it have a visible mouth?

Yes.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14096474#post14096474 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cczarnik
Thought more about it- 99% sure you have cup corals. Very common on florida rock. Harmless, but often misidentified and eradicated as aiptasia. Here are a couple of links:

http://www.coralidea.com/images/lps/phyllangia.jpg

http://www.sms.si.edu/irlSpec/Phyllan_americ.htm

Turn the rock over, look at the base and you'll see the skeleton. The ones I had did not tend to spread and did not seem to be invasive in any way. Hope this helps.

You're probably right.

 

[DMBillies]

I have to throw my ID on the corallimorph side (a.k.a. a type of mushroom; a.k.a. Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum). First off, I'm fairly sure this was the "surprising" conclusion we came to the last time this was asked because it was hard to believe these could be a "mushroom."

If it were a cup coral it would have a skeleton that is pretty easy to see and most of those cup corals I've seen have hazier tentacles (i.e., much easier to see).

See the bottom of this page or search the species name.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/invert.htm

I'd say ignore the fact that they are white since they are fairly commonly white (I've had both... whether the ID is right or not). I'd also think that these wouldn't be a huge nuisance or would be likely to get to plague proportions (whether they are a cup coral or the corallimorph). So, my advice would be to let them go and just be cognizant of where they are (which, if they are the mushrooms, should generally be areas that are out of the light for the most part).

 

[dagermain]

Then I would guess you could use something like aiptasia x if you wanted rid of them. I just bought some for a couple of hitchikers and am going to try it on one of them tonight. I would think the principle would work on anything with a mouth.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14097984#post14097984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
Yes.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14100107#post14100107 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dagermain
Then I would guess you could use something like aiptasia x if you wanted rid of them. I just bought some for a couple of hitchikers and am going to try it on one of them tonight. I would think the principle would work on anything with a mouth.

Injections....that would probably work, but the majority of 'critters' are in spots that aren't easily accessed.....and I have no idea how many of these things are hiding underneath the rocks I can't get to.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14099817#post14099817 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DMBillies
I have to throw my ID on the corallimorph side (a.k.a. a type of mushroom; a.k.a. Pseudocorynactis caribbeorum). First off, I'm fairly sure this was the "surprising" conclusion we came to the last time this was asked because it was hard to believe these could be a "mushroom."

If it were a cup coral it would have a skeleton that is pretty easy to see and most of those cup corals I've seen have hazier tentacles (i.e., much easier to see).

Is a 'skeleton' always a rigid structure?
I have scraped these off of rocks in the past, and there's nothing inside them.....at least from what I can tell. They appear very much like a mushroom in that regard.

 

[sandalscout]

I agree with Brian, the banded tentacle that are usually present in cup corals is absent in these pictures.

 

[dagermain]

I was thinking more for clearing areas where you would put corals and leaving the rest alone. Just a thought.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14100330#post14100330 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
Injections....that would probably work, but the majority of 'critters' are in spots that aren't easily accessed.....and I have no idea how many of these things are hiding underneath the rocks I can't get to.

 

[gflat65]

This is what I was thinking of with my questions (took it from your post, Chuck) . If you've scraped them off and there is no base, then it may not be these guys, but I've never tried removing them when I've had them. Mine were always just on the underside of rocks.

http://www.coralidea.com/images/lps/phyllangia.jpg

 

[DMBillies]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14100349#post14100349 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
Is a 'skeleton' always a rigid structure?
I have scraped these off of rocks in the past, and there's nothing inside them.....at least from what I can tell. They appear very much like a mushroom in that regard.

The skeletons from cup corals are unmistakable really. Look at gflat's pic. The white spots that form a star shape are the skeleton and if you killed the polyp, there would be a hard star shaped "skeleton" left behind that would stick above the rock and would be rigid.

In every picture you posted it shows the "polyp" sticking out of a crevice that I imagine it can retract back into if it needs to. This is not something most skeleton building corals need to do because they can retract back into their skeleton (and not a natural crevice).

To answer your question more generally... when I talk about a skeleton on a coral I pretty much always mean a rather rigid calcium carbonate structure that is deposited by the coral as it grows. Some soft corals, sponges, and gorgonians have sclerites in them which will be relatively hard and provide support to the animal but generally are not as rigid as the skeletons deposited by stony corals and may not hold up once the animal is dead (as would be the case with soft corals like scleronepthea).

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14101683#post14101683 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dagermain
I was thinking more for clearing areas where you would put corals and leaving the rest alone. Just a thought.

I don't think I'll have any choice. They do have some long sweeper tentacles.....urgh!!!

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14105549#post14105549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DMBillies
In every picture you posted it shows the "polyp" sticking out of a crevice that I imagine it can retract back into if it needs to. This is not something most skeleton building corals need to do because they can retract back into their skeleton (and not a natural crevice).

In most cases, they aren't in a crevice.....only on the surface.

Thanks for all of the input guys. Due to the size and placement, I pretty much don't have a choice except to monitor them.