Nocturnal Anemone

[dilbert]

Hi all,

in my pico, there is a strictly nocturnal anemone that has changed the hole on the same liverock now three times but I'm still unable to provide a photo.

When I saw once the whole body of that thing it looked like a light brown ball of about 10 to 12 mm (half an inch) diameter. The colour and surface of that ball looked pretty much like a piece of ingwer.

That ball is normally hidden in the rock and only at night there is a transparent crown coming out with very few, only 8 or so, sturdy and stiff tentacles, each less than 10 mm long. The end of the tentacles are round like those of a ball anemone.

This thing is only out at night and even hides completely in its hole when getting too much light from a torch.

It seems to live from plankton as there are only pods in this tank apart from a hermit crab and a tiny gorilla crab that I haven't seen for the last months, the same for its mold.

 

[ThatGuyMike]

sounds like u gotta be sneaky m8. an image is best, good luck. u got a video recorder? a glimpse of it is better than nothing...

 

[Colin_T]

It won't be an anemone, but more likely a tube worm or something along those lines. Anemones are unable to retract quickly so if you shine a torch on it and it retracts instantly, then it will be something else.

You've got a wierd creepy thing in your tank

 

[dilbert]

Well, it doesn't retract instantaneously like an Aiptasia but when I watch it at night a few times with a normal torch then it has gone finally after a few minutes not watching it.

I have seen on the Web photos of so-called nightly/nocturnal anemones but they all look different, more Aiptasia or ball anemone like. Mine is first colourless and then somehow round and stout, somewhat chubby.

Now, I haven't seen it since a week.

 

[Colin_T]

sounds interesting, any chance of a picture?

 

[dilbert]

I don't know. Those things I watch with a magnifier lens but my digital camera has only 3.1 pixels and no zoom and for my Minolta I don't have a macro lens.

So, even if it would appear again it'll be difficult. The pico is also only viewable from the front glass and from above. So, many things I might not even be aware of.

If I'll see it again, I'll try it. Last time, people identified my brown thin-plated encrusting hitchhiker SPS as a piece of pizza ...