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FAQs about Non-Vertebrate Animal Identification 53

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Related FAQs: Non-Vert IDs 1, Non-Vert IDs 2, Non-Vert IDs 3, Non-Vert IDs 4, Non-Vert IDs 5, Non-Vert IDs 6, Non-Vert IDs 7, Non-Vert IDs 8, Non-Vert IDs 9, Non-Vert IDs 10, Non-Vert IDs 11, Non-Vert IDs 12, Non-Vert IDs 13, Non-Vert IDs 14, Non-Vert IDs 15, Non-Vert IDs 16, Non-Vert IDs 17, Non-Vert IDs 18, Non-Vert. ID 19, Non-Vert. ID 20, Non-Vert. ID 21, Non-Vert. ID 22, Non-Vert. ID 23, Non-Vert. ID 25, Non-Vert ID 26, Non-Vert ID 27, Non-Vert ID 28, Non-Vert ID 29, Non-Vert ID 30, Non-Vert ID 31, Non-Vert ID 32, Non-Vert 33, Non-Vert ID 34 Non-Vert ID 35, Non-Vert ID 36, Non-Vert ID 37, Non-Vert ID 38, Non-Vert ID 39, Non-Vert ID 40, Non-Vert ID 41, Non-Vert ID 42, Non-Vert ID 43, Non-Vert ID 44, Non-Vert ID 45, Non-Vert ID 46, Non-Vert ID 47, Non-Vert ID 48, Non-Vert ID 49, Non-Vert ID 50, Non-Vert ID 51, Non-Vert ID 52, Non-Vert ID 54, Non-Vert ID 55, Non-Vert ID 56, Non-Vert ID 57, Non-Vert ID 58, Non-Vert ID 59, Non-Vert ID 60, Non-Vert ID 61, & Marine Invertebrates, Marine Invert.s 2, Marine Invert.s 3, & FAQs about: Marine Invertebrate Behavior, Marine Invertebrate Compatibility, Marine Invertebrate Selection, Marine Invertebrate Systems, Feeding Reef Invertebrates, Marine Invertebrate Disease, Marine Invertebrate Reproduction, & & LR Life Identification, LR Hitchhiker ID 1, Anemone Identification, Aiptasia Identification, Aiptasia ID 2, Worm Identification, Tubeworm ID, Polychaete Identification, Snail Identification, Marine Crab Identification, Marine Invert.s 1, Marine Invert.s 2, Marine Plankton,

New critter for IDing 7/18/2010
Good Morning to you all. Bob, love the book!
I have found yet another critter last night with the flashlight. I believe it to be a bivalve but I want to be sure. I noticed on your website only a few photos
that look the similar as mine but I would like to be sure.
<This is unusual... as the opening of the apparent valves appears to be oriented to the surface (rather than away)>
He/she only appears to be active at night and very sensitive to light. The two sides of the shell open and a white foot protrudes. At the other end, a darker set of lips, for lack of a better word, open. It moves by latching the foot forward and pulling the shell behind. He was spotted on my live rock.
He disappears during the day (light).
<Good clues>
I only have one other Flaming Clam in the tank and I hope I can keep this one if he is a healthy addition. Any idea if he will stay this size, about 1cm in length?
<Likely not to get much larger... I think what you have here is a Brachiopod>
Thanks again for you and your site!
Dayna Macdonald,
<Please see the Net re the group/phylum name... a rare find. Bob Fenner>

Invertebrate ID Help? Syconoid Sponges -- 716/10
WetWeb-ers, Hello again,
<Hello, Drew, Lynn here this evening.>
I have another mystery critter for you to cut your teeth on today.
<Go for it.>
A Cnidarian of some type seems likely, but I haven't found a photo similar to my little beasties.
<Ah, you were looking in the wrong place!>
Attached are some photos of small (roughly 1/4") critters that have recently been found infesting my rockwork and sump. They are sessile and have a slender tubular body about the size of a chubby grain of rice which projects perpendicular to their chosen surface. At the free end is a structure (mouth/feeding apparatus?) with a circular array of very short tentacles, less than 1/3 the length of the body itself. They are the color of oatmeal, or thereabouts.
<No worries, these are harmless/beneficial, filter-feeding Syconoid sponges. There's an excellent close-up of one at the FAQ titled 'Sponge Identification: Syconoid Sponges. 6/3/2009' at this link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/SpongeID12.htm . You can find more related FAQ's by entering the term Syconoid in our Google search engine: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Googlesearch.htm >
As you can see in the pictures, they have a great liking for my sump and have colonized it extensively.
<That's typical for these sponges.>
They are present on the rockwork as well, however, though the highest concentrations seem to be underneath overhangs. Still, some are present on the top of the rocks in full light and flow. I can't say with confidence which conditions they're favoring.
<These usually come and go in boom and bust cycles, especially in new systems. In more mature systems, high numbers can indicate a problem with excess nutrients.>
(Given the difficulty I had photographing them, I'm inclined to determine that they do not show up on film and therefore must be vampires or some faction of The Undead...)
<Heheee! No need to get out the garlic and wooden stakes for these guys!>
Any ideas?
<Yep, if this is a new (or semi-new) tank, don't worry about it. The large numbers you're presently seeing will reduce to a manageable number all on their own. You'll likely end up with a few here and there in the display and a bunch in the sump. If this is a mature system, you've likely got a nutrient problem going on. For more information on nutrient control, please see the following link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm >
Drew
<Take care, Lynn Z>

Re: Invertebrate ID Help? Syconoid Sponges -- 7/17/10
<Hey Andrew!>
Lynn you're unflappable; first my double-pistoled shrimp and now this...amazing!
<Heeee! This one was easy. The double-barreled pistol shrimp was a new one for me as well. I'd read that Alpheids could potentially have two snapping claws but had never come across one. I'd say we both learned something with that query!>
I looked through the archives and find that these guys (or their
near fellows) often appear as a fuzzy ball or Q-tip shaped object as well:
<Yep, they're commonly called Q-tip or Pineapple sponges.>
..turns out my girlfriend and I had noticed just such an organism a week or two ago and when she suggested it may be related to the present outbreak I told her she was silly and to leave this to the experts...... obviously flowers are already en route, this will be a long weekend.
<Hehehee! Sounds like you've got some 'splainin' to do, and perhaps some wining and dining as well!>
FWIW, this tank has only been running since March,
<Yep, there you go. That's a fairly new tank.>
..albeit with rock and sand from an established tank. We're in the midst of a hair algae outbreak as well, so I suppose your nutrient problem hypothesis can't be ignored.
<Yep, something's feeding the hair algae and sponges. Be sure to keep up with your water changes, and if you have a skimmer, make sure it's in good working condition. Also, make sure you're not over-stocked or over-feeding regarding livestock. Finally, check your source water for nitrates and phosphates, and if you don't have it already, get a light for your sump and set up a section where you can add a macroalgae, like Chaetomorpha. The macro will go a long way to controlling the hair algae and nutrient issues. Do read through the related article mentioned in the last email as I've only glanced over the topic here!>
Thanks for the help, as always.
<Always a pleasure, Andrew.>
Andrew
<Take care, Lynn Z>

Tip On Goniopora <fdg., ltg.> And A Question On Frogspawn <beh., id.> 6/23/10
Greetings crew!
<David>
First off, your site is incredible and I use it as my saltwater aquaria bible.
<Thank you, and glad to hear.>
My first point is a tip with Goniopora or flowerpot coral since it seems to be a delicate creature and hard for some to take care of.
<I agree.>
I have had the red variety of Goniopora in my tank (55gal with skimmer, charcoal media filter and 29gal refugium and 216W T5 with 2 10K and 2 Actinic and moon lights on a 12hr timer) with Zoas, Palys, Xenia, multiple
LPS (Favias, FS, chalice), Rics and Shrooms, a few softies (chili and orange carnation), a rose BTA and a Tube Anemone. Fish are Six Line Wrasse, Black Saddle Perc Clown, Orange Perc Clown, fire goby and a Blue Hippo
Tang. Said Goniopora has been healthy, blooming and encrusting for 5 months now. I feed Mysis, brine soaked in Selcon then drained and seaweed (for the tang) and zooplankton (targeted) and phytoplankton (twice a week). The
phyto is for softies and Goniopora. I read a study, possibly on this site, that studies of dissected Goniopora in the wild found the majority of the stomach contents to be phytoplankton.
<I have read similar reports to that extent, and that Goniopora cannot survive on photosynthesis alone, but depends on phyto for 70% of it's diet.>
I also found that, my species in my tank, seemed to be very sensitive to light changes even light temp. Due to a mix up at the LFS I had to run 3 10K bulbs and 1 actinic instead of the 2 and 2 normal setup. This ran for 4 days before I could correct and caused my flowerpot to completely recede into the skeleton and close the openings to the polyps. Once I fixed the lighting temperature SNAFU, it started to bloom immediately! Hope some of this helps.
<Agree, actinic doesn't do much for photosynthesis.>
Oops, forgot tank parameters:
SG-1.025
PH-8.3
temp-80
Am-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-fluctuates between 0 and 10
Calc-480
Alk-9
MG-1260
Phos-0-0.25 I know...no readable phosphate.
weekly 5gal water changes of RO/DI
1/2 cup dark skimmate every 3-4 days
So my question about the frogspawn is this:
I have researched on your site and others regarding the anatomy and physiology of this species (mine is the green and purple branching variety) regarding feeding parts. I know about sweeper tentacles (mainly for defense and attack) and the mouth located at the center of the head. The part that I am curious about is a tube like opening on each head separate from the mouth. This opening can close and retract and when it is open a translucent fanlike appendage darts out, opens up and rotates to catch particulate and then retreats. This happens constantly through out the day and night; pretty cool to watch. I have not been able to find any info on this on your site. Is this a filter feeding mechanism to add to the photosynthetic algae and carnivorous eating habits of this LPS?
<Mmm, I'm not aware of that physical behavior, and in searching Borneman's book, came up with nothing. I know Euphyllias have developed several feeding strategies and whether this is one of them, I don't know. As crazy as it sounds, it seems as though you have a barnacle of some type growing in the Frogspawn. Your description of this sure resembles a barnacle to me. Bob, am I losing it, or do you have any input?><<Mmm, this IS likely a Cirripedian... a Barnacle; but could be a filter feeding member of other arthropod groups (crab, shrimp). RMF>>
Thanks for your time!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
-David

Re: More re: tip on Goniopora and a question on frogspawn 6/25/10
I have attached a few pics, one where the FS has receded into the skeleton and one where it is starting to extend. The interesting thing is that each head of the FS has one and the placement is also the same. hopefully the pics can shed some light on this!
<Mmm, the tube is likely resultant from the "space ""parasite"" and the stony coral's interaction. This still may be a Barnacle... Do please look at today's Daily FAQs on WWM, as another has written in w/ images of his "fanning" commensal organism. BobF>

Re Tip On Goniopora <fdg., ltg.> And A Question On Frogspawn <beh., id.> 6/23/10 6/25/10
Ok so I was reading the dailies today and came across this query about the "translucent fanlike appendage" I also have the exact same coral that he is referring to and tried my best to get a picture of it a little blurry but you can definitely make out its general shape I don't know if my fanlike creature is the exact same as his but what I do know is that it does resemble a shrimp that pokes out.
<I see this>
I can definitely see what appears to be two small legs that sit on top of the opening when this creature comes out
and the "mouth" of the animal appears to be the same multiple appendage moving very quickly like say a cleaner shrimp does when it 's eating. I attached a few photos for you guys to look at. Also in picture coral 21 I was wondering what those white and green tube like things are. Are they the beginning of a small colony of cluster dusters?
<These are a green algae/Chlorophyte, genus Neomeris>
Kris
<Bob Fenner>

Squishy Critter ID 6/23/10
Hey WWM,
<Hi Mike>
I recently purchased a coral frag from my LFS. After moving the frag out of the bag it was in, I found that the water contained these little slug-like creatures... lots of them. I put them in some Tupperware to see if they were worth adding to my tank, but couldn't find out what they were. I took as good of a picture as I could get. They are brownish and relatively active.
They stick to surfaces and have worm-like movement. What are these little critters?
<These look like Stomatella snails to me.. it's difficult to see, but do they have a very small shell on the top, and when you pick them up the tail falls off? If so, then that is what you have, a beneficial organism.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php>
THANKS!
<No problem>
Mike
<Simon>

Re: Squishy Critter ID 6/24/10
<Mike>
They are very small, <How small?> that's about as good as I can take a photo of them with my camera. There are probably about a dozen visible ones that hitchhiked on a 4" orange Zoanthid frag. They don't have shells, toward their back they are reddish brown. Does the shell form as they grow larger?
<The shell is difficult to spot. Does the tail come off when you pick one up as I described? Simon>

Re: Squishy Critter ID 6/25/10
<Hello Mike>
They are about 1mm in size and smaller.
<Mmm, then these could actually be Planaria
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm>
We were only able to pick them up on our nails and using an eye dropper, and nothing fell off of them.
<Ok. Quite possibly flatworms then. Not too much to worry about unless they get to plague proportions>
I guess I'll wait a bit and see what develops. From your link it said that they mature quickly so hopefully we be sure within a month or so.
<Simon>

Avatar movie-- is it just me? Mar. invert. ID 5/25/10
Hello,
Anyone else notice that a lot of the "vegetation" on Pandora looks a lot like various marine invertebrates?
Cheers,
Sara
<Oh heck yeah... Specially the giant fanworms/Featherdusters. B>

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