They Come Out At Night

[BeakerBob]

I've been watching these in my tank for several years now and finally got a halfway decent picture of them since a colony moved closer to the front glass. Anyone know what they are called? They don't move around like a worm and the only movement they make is to shrink down when disturbed.

Sorry for the big picture, but in order to see the clear spotted tentacles, you have to look very close.

 

[reefnetworth]

if it had a red cap with silver dots, i would say: "ask Jimi Hendrix" :smokin:

i have no idea, and ive seen some cool stuff pop-up out of my LR.
those are too cool. im gonna fallow this thread!!!

 

[68551]

I don't know what it is either but I have the same thing in my fuge sandbed...They retreat big time when I shine a flashlight on them....Mine have less brown on the "stem"...but otherwise look exactly the same....GREAT PIC!!!!!
Tagging along~~~~~~~

 

[68551]

Now that the world is back online.....anyone????

 

[68551]

bump

 

[iamwhatiam52]

AMAZING picture!

I have something similar in a place where it can barely be seen. It looks like an anemone except that the tentacles seem to move independently of each other, one in one direction another in a different direction unlike any anemone I've seen.

 

[EllieSuz]

BeakerBob,

This is a fantastic photo. Can you give us an estimate of length of these things? I'm trying to get an idea of their size.

 

[BeakerBob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14021366#post14021366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EllieSuz
BeakerBob,

This is a fantastic photo. Can you give us an estimate of length of these things? I'm trying to get an idea of their size.

The largest one in the picture is about 1" high X 1/4" wide, but I don't know the remaining length that is buried in the rubble/sand.

 

[LeslieH]

Yes, they are anemones. I've never seen anything like them so no help on id, sorry. Most anemones were described from preserved specimens so except for the common ones sold in the trade or seen by divers there's no information on color or behavior that we can use to match a name to living specimens. Really really beautiful though! Any idea what part of the world they could have come from?

 

[melev]

Great picture, Bob! I notice the tips are colored, which makes me lean toward Orange Ball Anemones, but nothing other than the tips makes me think that. They are super neat.

Do they sting anything in the nearby area, or do they act more commensal toward their host/neighbor?

 

[BeakerBob]

Leslie, they look more like a worm than an anemone, but they don't move from their location. Maybe I can dig one up and shoot a picture of the whole body. Most anemones that I am familiar with have very soft bodies and move around on their pedal disk. Since the live rock and inhabitants of my tank are so diverse, I can't identify any particular part of the world that they may have originated from.

Marc, I have some ball anenomes in the tank and they are very different than the organisms in the picture. I would have to say that they are more commensal toward their host/neighbor as their tentacles do not seem to bother any corals or livestock.

 

[LeslieH]

Nearly all of the commercially sold anemones fit the "standard" body type with pedal disks. What you've got are burrowing anemones and in fact this particular type is known as a worm anemone. They live in soft sediment or in rock crevices, move through the sediment, and are not attached. Instead of a pedal disk they have strong muscular hind ends that help them move rapidly through the sediment. When I said I had never seen anything like yours before I meant the species. Worm anemones can be common in soft bottom habitats & they get put into my worm samples all the time by inexperienced sorters.

You can check out a somewhat similar looking species here:
http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=D13500

 

[mkbtank]

Those are fantastic pictures! Magazine worthy. Finding things like these guys are exactly why I love this hobby so much.

 

[BeakerBob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14024695#post14024695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LeslieH
Nearly all of the commercially sold anemones fit the "standard" body type with pedal disks. What you've got are burrowing anemones and in fact this particular type is known as a worm anemone. They live in soft sediment or in rock crevices, move through the sediment, and are not attached. Instead of a pedal disk they have strong muscular hind ends that help them move rapidly through the sediment. When I said I had never seen anything like yours before I meant the species. Worm anemones can be common in soft bottom habitats & they get put into my worm samples all the time by inexperienced sorters.

You can check out a somewhat similar looking species here:
http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=D13500

Thanks Leslie! That would be them! The trunk and head of the one in the reference picture is very similar to the ones in my tank. I would have never guessed that they were an anemone though :-D

As other reefers have replied...this is one of the reasons that reefing is such a great hobby....we see and learn something new all the time, even though we may have had the tank for years.

Thanks to everyone that have commented on the picture and found interest in this thread!

 

[mkbtank]

Bob you should really submit that picture for a photo of the month contest.