Please ID This Sump Creature

[SkullV]

Noticed this in my sump the other night. The tube at the bottom of this thing was always there but it was previously completely stone white. It has been in the sump for a couple months now with light (alternating from my tank lighting) and now the tube is green and has tentacles growing out of it. People on the CMAS forum have been saying it is some kind of Euphyllia but I just can't believe that it would regenerate from seemingly nothing.

My thoughts were:

• Some kind of hydroid
• Mojano (but I have never seen one with a tube before)
• Duncan (probably not)
• Euphyllia (don't think so)

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

My guess it is a hammer coral.

 

[Easily Distracted]

They can regenerate from a point where there is no visible flesh. I have had a skeleton sitting in a sump as rubble for about a year and then start regenerating when it liked the conditions.

I currently have a LPS growing that I was going to post shortly to help get an ID. I got a frag of zoas from 06busa. He glued the zoas to a bare piece of skeleton as a frag plug. Under my lighting, the skeleton started to regenerate flesh and has now grown to the point where it is beating back the zoanthids.

 

[SkullV]

Sounds like it's time to get this thing out of the sump and into the reef with some real lighting.

 

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

Looks like Anemonia cf. manjano: http://www.reeflex.net/tiere/884_Anemonia_cf. manjano .htm

 

[GerritM]

My guess is an Euphyllia too.

 

[lnm130]

I would think Euphyllia. Not a mojano..at least not like one I've ever seen!

 

[SkullV]

Looks like Anemonia cf. manjano: http://www.reeflex.net/tiere/884_Anemonia_cf. manjano .htm

That's what I thought at first but the tube is hard. A mojano would have a soft foot.

 

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

SkullV, I didn't get that at first reading. You're right.

 

[Gangrene]

Hammer Coral +1

 

[mndfreeze]

Just my personal experience. I got this tiny itty bitty rescue piece for a few bucks from a local LFS that looked EXACTLY like that. Bulbous style tips and all. I THOUGHT it was a hammer.

It's been growing well, it is now some goofy looking mushroom with bulb stingers on it. Just FYI as it gets bigger. Mine spread out after it got its foot about that same size.

 

[SkullV]

Just my personal experience. I got this tiny itty bitty rescue piece for a few bucks from a local LFS that looked EXACTLY like that. Bulbous style tips and all. I THOUGHT it was a hammer.

It's been growing well, it is now some goofy looking mushroom with bulb stingers on it. Just FYI as it gets bigger. Mine spread out after it got its foot about that same size.

Did it have a hard tube?

 

[mndfreeze]

It was way to small to tell if it was starting to build a hard nub or not. It was really really tiny. But like I said, after it grew it ended up being what I think is a St Thomas Mushroom. But when super tiny it is really hard to tell if its growing a skeleton or not.

 

[emissary43]

Fungia plates look like that as babies and are common enough to pop up in peoples tanks out of nowhere. Have yet to see a euphyllia do that. There is a first for everything though.

 

[SkullV]

Well, while scanning the tank last night I actually noticed a hammer baby popping up from a hammer skeleton I used to mount frags to. This is unbelievable that corals are this resilient! I'll try to get a pic of it sometime today.

 

[Jmnazari]

Those hammer corals are tough as nails! Hahaha. One of my first corals was a hammer, and it's been through just about everything and it still produces little heads

 

[derekdelisi]

This is unbelievable that corals are this resilient!

Corals are like that, only the one's that you hope do well die.