Friend or Foe? Help ID Please!

[Rubberdam604]

Hi all,

We have had these little green guys popping up around the tank. Any info on what they are? Friend or foe? If bad, any advice on how to kill it?

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

[sturgesz]

Hard to tell but looks like zoas/ palys

 

[BristleWormHater]

Majano Anemones, there's a lot of debate about whether they are good or bad. Look it up and decide. I've never dealt with them so I can't help other than ID.

 

[splunty]

The way it's spreading seems like an anemone. Green brooding anemone? Majanos?

 

[Rubberdam604]

I kind of thought they were mojano anemones as well, but I feel they look a little different than most online photos. I was hoping they were palys/zoa but consensus seems to be mojano .

 

[splunty]

If they are brooding anemone they'll have lots of "babies" attached like this:

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inverts.wallawalla.edu

They release, float around, attach and spread. If not, I'll vote mojano.

 

[BristleWormHater]

I kind of thought they were mojano anemones as well, but I feel they look a little different than most online photos. I was hoping they were palys/zoa but consensus seems to be mojano .

Hard to tell but looks like zoas/ palys

Couldn't be palys or zoas. Both these corals grow in colonies, not sporadically across the rocks, that is caused by the the release of gametes that become fertile and settle in the rocks. Definitely an anemone of some kind @ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If they are brooding anemone they'll have lots of "babies" attached like this:

Loading…

inverts.wallawalla.edu

They release, float around, attach and spread. If not, I'll vote mojano.

Couldn't be palys or zoas. Both these corals grow in colonies, not sporadically across the rocks, that is caused by the the release of gametes that become fertile and settle in the rocks. Definitely an anemone of some kind @ISpeakForTheSeas

Zoas or palys would have a little mat/base spreading with the polyps in the colony. Epiactis prolifera is a coldwater/temperate species, so it's not that either in this case.

OP, any chance you could get a pic of the column/foot of one?

If not, an Anemonia (same genus as Majano Anemones - Anemonia manjano - but a different species) or Anthopleura species would be my guess - unfortunately, though, the species I'm aware of in these genera that can look like this are unidentified or (to my current knowledge from a 2018 article) undescribed.

So, it's most likely not wanted in a display tank, but they could be really neat in a little "pest" or nem tank.