Is this aiptasia?

[dleko]

We are trying to get an ID on this.... We posted the pic on "new to the hobby", and we were told it was an aiptasia and to use Joe's Juice. We read earlier on the forum that tbs rock doesn't have aiptasia, but can have curly cue. We don't want to destroy it if we don't have to. What do you think?

 

[hdtran]

I don't believe it is. Look at the banding on the tentacles. Could be the 'curly-cue' or the (no scientific name) light bulb. The Aiptasias that I've seen at the LFS's have uniformly colored tentacles.

I have a couple of these anemones, and they have not replicated.

Hy

 

[liverock]

Re: Is this aiptasia?

We are trying to get an ID on this.... We posted the pic on "new to the hobby", and we were told it was an aiptasia and to use Joe's Juice. We read earlier on the forum that tbs rock doesn't have aiptasia, but can have curly cue. We don't want to destroy it if we don't have to. What do you think?

Is a good guy...

Richard TBS

 

[Mammoth]

Re: Re: Is this aiptasia?

Re: Re: Is this aiptasia?

Is a good guy...

Richard TBS

Richard, you're full of crap. It's too bad the ditto-heads here won't do some research and force you to address this for real.

Maybe some day you'll ID and discuss this for your customers...instead of your typical vague responses.

 

[liverock]

Re: Re: Re: Is this aiptasia?

Re: Re: Re: Is this aiptasia?

Richard, you're full of crap. It's too bad the ditto-heads here won't do some research and force you to address this for real.

Maybe some day you'll ID and discuss this for your customers...instead of your typical vague responses.

Sorry man, it is not an aptasia.......

Richard TBS

 

[seastarUSC]

it's an anemone

it's an anemone

I think it's a candy cane anemone.

I have a few that came on some other live rock of mine. It's not aiptasia, because it's got some markings on the tenticles. Aiptasia is uniformly brown and has a longer stalk on the bottom. If you're really worried about it being the wrong kind of anemone, throw in a peppermint shrimp and they'll eat the bad kind. (besides, peppermints are cute to watch swaying upside down under the rock ledges)

 

[liverock]

Re: it's an anemone

Re: it's an anemone

I think it's a candy cane anemone.

I have a few that came on some other live rock of mine. It's not aiptasia, because it's got some markings on the tenticles. Aiptasia is uniformly brown and has a longer stalk on the bottom. If you're really worried about it being the wrong kind of anemone, throw in a peppermint shrimp and they'll eat the bad kind. (besides, peppermints are cute to watch swaying upside down under the rock ledges)

Correct!

Richard TBS

 

[snooter1]

Have a few of these and they seem fine. You can even feed them. They have not replicated or been a problem. No one gets evicted until they become a problem.

 

[->L<- REEF]

I have a question then. Will peppermints also eat lightbulb anemone, pale anemone, and candycane anemones? Or just the Aptasia?

 

[hdtran]

Sea star,

Do you have a genus on that anemone?

If you do a search on "light bulb anemone" (not latin, I know), you can find some photos that greatly resemble this guy, but again, no genus/species.

If mammoth would be willing to scan and post the photo of Aiptasia tagetes from his Peterson's guide, that would be great. Unfortunately, being very far inland, I can't find Peterson's guide to Florida/Caribbean in the local bookstores or libraries. For now, I'm unwilling to accept the ID of Aiptasia for this anemone (I've seen Aiptasias in LFS's, and this is not them).

Hy

 

[Mammoth]

Sea star,

Do you have a genus on that anemone?

If you do a search on "light bulb anemone" (not latin, I know), you can find some photos that greatly resemble this guy, but again, no genus/species.

If mammoth would be willing to scan and post the photo of Aiptasia tagetes from his Peterson's guide, that would be great. Unfortunately, being very far inland, I can't find Peterson's guide to Florida/Caribbean in the local bookstores or libraries. For now, I'm unwilling to accept the ID of Aiptasia for this anemone (I've seen Aiptasias in LFS's, and this is not them).

Hy

I wish I could do that. I spend quite a few hours a week in a library, and was researching there. No scanners around.

I also aknowledge the possibility that the field guide is wrong. What's needed is a discussion of this creature, with references like I posted on the other thread. Unfortunately, instead of a discussion we have a salesman who has ID'ed this as 4 different things at this point, denying the Aiptasia is a possibility when scientific references say otherwise. More typical of the LFS treatment than TBS.

Here is a pic from my tank. This cluster started as 1 creature, which showed barely visible tentacles a few weeks after the rock arrived. Roughly 8 months later...

 

[jasonross]

from what I have see it looks like a curly cue ... per liveaquaria it is part of the" Aiptasiidae family" latin nameis (Bartholomea annulata) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=1703

 

[liverock]

from what I have see it looks like a curly cue ... per liveaquaria it is part of the" Aiptasiidae family" latin nameis (Bartholomea annulata) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=1703

Curly cue, or at least what we call them and identify them as, do not occur in the area of the Gulf where we are. I have only seen curlys in the keys, in the grass flats.

Many folks call different things by different names, common names are usually indigenous to specific regions, thus what we call something may be named something else in another area of Florida.

The anemones pictured by Mamouth, do not look like any aptasia I have ever seen....

Richard TBS

 

[jasonross]

I have only seen aptasia golden brown solid color,,,just my .02

 

[Mammoth]

The anemones pictured by Mamouth, do not look like any aptasia I have ever seen....

Richard TBS [/B]

Lol...Mamouth. Good one.

So...what kind of 'aptasia' have you seen then? (Just a hint Dick, if you ever decide to research the stuff your selling, start with correct spelling)

http://www.aquarium.net/faqs/aiptasia.shtml

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/aiptasia/aiptasia.htm

http://www.seaslugforum.net/aiptasia.htm

http://www.garf.org/copper/COPPERBAND2.html

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/aipatasia.htm

There are a few quick references. All of them include anemones either identical to, or very similar to, the ones in my picture. The descriptions, life cycles and behaviors also match.

Once again Dick, anything *real* input or just a few words to generally dodge the issue and maintain the status quo of confusion?

-Mamouth

 

[->L<- REEF]

Ok, my question did and did not get answered, I still dont know if the peppermints only eat aiptasia, but the pictures shown by mammoth's tank and refrences are identical to the ones I got from TBS that my peppermint shrimp has takin care of. I'm in agreement with mammoth that they are a form of Aiptasia until
"someone" can clarify differant.

 

[ladyshark]

Mamoth--yeeeshh!

Please stop being so hostile. Its not warranted. Richard deals with hundreds of emails and phone calls a day, and cannot possibly answer each question with treatise. He is not Ron Shimek or Eric Borneman, nor does he profess to be. He is just trying to be helpful. You are over-reacting.

Richard doesn't need to be a salesman. The product sells itself.
I have never gotten the sense that he is anything but a good natured guy who is trying to be helpful, in between dives.

Work out your own issues in the appropriate forum, not at Reef Central. Your shaming approach only stiffles feedback, and interupts the real value of Reef Central as an online community of folks helping each other.

OK, I am done--go ahead Mammoth, let me have it now.

 

[hdtran]

I have the same anemone as dleko and mammoth pictured. They have neither moved nor replicated. One small one got buried by an enterprising mantis.

Of the links posted by mammoth, only the last one (reefcorner) shows a picture that is similar (if not identical) to the anemone here. The reefcorner site identifies this as either Aiptasia pallida or Aiptasia pulchella. None of the other links have photos that look like dleko's anemone.

Take the following disclaimers: (1) I have a degree in biology, but that was more than 20 yrs ago, and we never studied anything larger than a bacteria; (2) the internet is a great source of information and misinformation (not to mention disinformation).

That said, Aiptasia pulchella has a rather dim picture in the about.com site, in Hawaii. I'm unable to find a source that states that A. pulchella has a range in Florida/Caribbean; it appears to be a Pacific species. (Of course, I don't think anyone is doing DNA sequencing on this...). Debi Hauter's picture of A. pulchella does not appear similar to dleko's anemone.

There are many photos of A. pallida on the net, including the seaslug forum. All the other posted photos of A. pallida differ from the photo posted in reefcorner.com. A. pallida does range in the Florida keys. I have seen no source that says it ranges in colder waters (or doesn't, to be fair).

I think reefcorner may not have a correct identification.

I think the Curlycue (Bartolomea annulata, I believe) is more similar, but is still an incorrect ID (too many tentacles compared to dleko's anemone.)

What makes a pest is not whether it's in the Aiptasia family or Aiptasia genus--what makes it a pest is that it replicates, wanders, and stings. Some folks consider (perhaps tongue in cheek) Xenia corals to be pests!

For this case, I don't think it's a pest anemone. Mammoth disagrees, because his (I'm making a gender assumption here, forgive me if I'm incorrect) anemones have replicated. I would suggest terminating the anemone if you don't like them.

I'm in favor of 'innocent until proven guilty.' I have dleko's anemone. It hasn't replicated, propagated, or moved, so for me, it's innocent. I have at least one mantis left in my display tank, about 2" long. So far, it's beating up on barnacles, pods, and eating leftover frozen brine or other fish food. So that mantis is also (I think) innocent (no mayhem in the tank that I can see). The 'gorilla' crabs, on the other hand, are guilty, because I've witnessed them going after snails and limpets. Red emeralds are also guilty (picking at corals).

Off topic: I (used to) get seriously bent out of shape when someone would post a cup coral picture in New Reefkeepers, and 15 people would say "It's aiptasia, man, kill it quick!"

 

[Mammoth]

Mamoth--yeeeshh!

Work out your own issues in the appropriate forum, not at Reef Central. Your shaming approach only stiffles feedback, and interupts the real value of Reef Central as an online community of folks helping each other.

OK, I am done--go ahead Mammoth, let me have it now.

Thanks. No need to "let you have it". I'm not trying to pick a fight, just trying to find a more accurate conclusion as to what this is. I would expect the saleman to participate beyond "good guy/bad guy". Especially after he has ID'ed it as 4 or 5 different things. And no, his "common name" excuse doesn't fly since he's named multiple specific types.

The funny thing is, my posts have all been on topic and focused on ID, while you joined the thread simply to attack me. I guess I should know better than to question the almighty Dick.

 

[Mammoth]

information and misinformation (not to mention disinformation).

That said, Aiptasia pulchella has a rather dim picture in the about.com site, in Hawaii. I'm unable to find a source that states that A. pulchella has a range in Florida/Caribbean; it appears to be a Pacific species. (Of course, I don't think anyone is doing DNA sequencing on this...). Debi Hauter's picture of A. pulchella does not appear similar to dleko's anemone.

There are many photos of A. pallida on the net, including the seaslug forum. All the other posted photos of A. pallida differ from the photo posted in reefcorner.com. A. pallida does range in the Florida keys. I have seen no source that says it ranges in colder waters (or doesn't, to be fair).

I think reefcorner may not have a correct identification.

I think the Curlycue (Bartolomea annulata, I believe) is more similar, but is still an incorrect ID (too many tentacles compared to dleko's anemone.)

Thanks for more input Tran. As you've apparently found out, there is A LOT of confusion about Aiptasias and we could dig forever. My guess is that we're either dealing with A. Pallida or A. Tagetes. It seems the common names for both have been mixed up, at least online.

What makes a pest is not whether it's in the Aiptasia family or Aiptasia genus--what makes it a pest is that it replicates, wanders, and stings. Some folks consider (perhaps tongue in cheek) Xenia corals to be pests!

For this case, I don't think it's a pest anemone. Mammoth disagrees, because his (I'm making a gender assumption here, forgive me if I'm incorrect) anemones have replicated. I would suggest terminating the anemone if you don't like them.

No, remember the last thread where we tried to nail this down? In my case it's not a pest at all. I actually like them, quite a bit. My tank is FOWLR, so I could care less. The faster they replicate, the better.

I'm not some panicked hobbyist looking for a solution to a non-existent problem. I'm an interested hobbyist who really wants to know what he has in his tank. Dick knows that ID'ing this as an Aiptasia (harmful or not) can make the product less desireable. People may unreasonably decide that there is a potential for another problem hitchhiker on his rock. Sharklady should take notice that at no time have I stated this is any kind of threat or nuisance in *my* tank. I have a friend with a reef with lots of TBS, and they aren't a problem in his tank either...the Peppermints take care of it just fine.

Any 'aggresion' in my posts are related to the fact that this is very possibly aiptasia, but Dick won't even enter the discussion beyond 'good guy/bad guy'. It's obvious that he either doesn't know the truth (which I admit to myself), or doesn't want anyone else to.