can someone help me id this

[jcgoguen]

I bought snails at LFS and one of them had an aptasia looking thing on it, then it jumped off and started swimming. Sorry about the pics, they are the best I can get, this "thing" is very small.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[kmk2307]

Was it being blown around in the current or was it actually swimming? Does it appear to have a "head" end? Could it be a sea slug?

 

[jcgoguen]

it was in a bag from LFS it was definately swimming LFS owner has no idea what it is and he is very knowledgeable (spelling?) abput reef tanks and saltwater in general it is not in tank it is in catch bucket kinda looks like a small aptasia but swims like an octupus (flailing tentacles) not sure about head. in the top pick longest strectch from tip to tip is 3/8 inch

 

[kmk2307]

I'd really like to see some better pictures of this. It must be either a medusa of a hydrozoan cnidarian (or maybe a scyphozoan cnidarian but i doubt it) or maybe a nudibranch. Does it have a head? What does it do when it stops swimming? Glide around? Stay still?

 

[jcgoguen]

it attaches to the wall of the catch bucket and chills out like an anenome, cant tell about head, in pic 2 from tip to tip at longest stretch is onlt 3/8 inch if that much, its really hard to get my digital camera to focus on it

 

[mamagoose45]

I've seen these before and no one around our area (or on the boards) knew what they were. We got one in a bag from a LFS when we bought a coral. The guy at the store pointed it out to us as we were checking out - he said they had seen a few of them but no one knew what they were. Exactly like jcgoguen said, they chill out stationary like a regular ol' anemone, and then all of a sudden they detach and go cruising around, swimming on their own. And they definitely swim on their own the ones we saw were swimming about the bag of water while it was sitting on a counter in the store. I would agree with the jellyfish/octopus like swimming method.

Hope that helps...?

 

[jcgoguen]

thanx mamagoose for the help on description

 

[jcgoguen]

i managed to get some slightly better pics top or frony view

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[jcgoguen]

oops reposted a pic from first set heres the new pic

[/IMG]

 

[TwentyTwenty]

If you have no luck here getting it id. I would try wetwebmedia.com. I'm sure someone over there can help you out.

 

[darthwall]

I think what you have there is a "swimming anemone". They are considered pests (just like Aiptasia) and will take over your tank if left to reproduce (they reproduce asexually). They can survive in almost any condition, and I'd recommend taking them out of the tank before they reproduce. I've read that Copperband Butterflyfish are supposed to eat them but may also eat other tank residents.

 

[jcgoguen]

thanks for the help people very much appreciated