ID Translucent Little Trees

[Jack20120]

My 90-g tank has been running for about 4 weeks. It's still cycling but with 60 lb of live rock. Some of the rock is starting to come to live.

We can't ID these little tree looking things that are growing on one of the live rocks. It seems isolated to one side of one of the live rock pieces. They have grown slowly over the past few weeks.

Any idea what these are / should we try to remove?

 

[Mark Goode]

They look like hydroids to me. (but I'm clearly wrong again)

 

[Reefing102]

Looks like brown star polyps (Briareum sp.)

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Perhaps an encrusting gorgonian species of some kind?

Some sort of color less green star polyps? I'd please

I picked this up at the lfs for $10. I've had it for two months and haven't be able to Id it. It's growing on a mat like a green star polyp and is spreading down the frag plug.

www.reef2reef.com

Edit: just to add, it looks like each polyp has 8 tentacles on it, so I'd guess it's some kind of octocoral (soft corals, gorgonians, etc.), but I'm not sure which kind.

 

[Jack20120]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm not sure if I should be excited about small coral in my new tank or panic and try to kill all of it?

 

[IKD]

Watch how quickly these spread and you’ll get a good idea if you should remove or at least isolate to a rock island to prevent infestation

 

[Eagle_Steve]

My 90-g tank has been running for about 4 weeks. It's still cycling but with 60 lb of live rock. Some of the rock is starting to come to live.

We can't ID these little tree looking things that are growing on one of the live rocks. It seems isolated to one side of one of the live rock pieces. They have grown slowly over the past few weeks.

Any idea what these are / should we try to remove?

View attachment 2999878

Where did the rock come from? For example, is this rock from an LFS? Or did it come from KP or Tampa Bay Live Rock, for example?

Knowing where the rock came from or if was collected in water off of FL coasts will help narrow down an ID.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like star polyps

 

[I never finish anythi]

Pipe organ coral , maybe ??

 

[Tlledsmar]

That's star polyps, kinda bleached out eh

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pipe organ coral , maybe ??

My pipe organ frilly as below

 

[vetteguy53081]

Cloves have palm tree like branches

 

[Jack20120]

I have one more clue -- at night, these things shrink down into little balls or disappear all together.

 

[brandon429]

your tank isn't cycling, it's been skip cycled. sixty pounds of live rock gets a tank ready on day 1, waiting longer doesnt help. there isn't any bioload in a reefing display that sixty pounds of cured/active live rock like that can't carry, on day one.

for use in our skip cycle study thread, can you post a full tank picture of this setup?

also for our use: nobody tried to sell you bottle bac for this cycle, correct? skip cycle setups don't use bottle bac, that's for strictly dry rock setups.

 

[Jack20120]

your tank isn't cycling, it's been skip cycled. sixty pounds of live rock gets a tank ready on day 1, waiting longer doesnt help. there isn't any bioload in a reefing display that sixty pounds of cured/active live rock like that can't carry, on day one.

for use in our skip cycle study thread, can you post a full tank picture of this setup?

also for our use: nobody tried to sell you bottle bac for this cycle, correct? skip cycle setups don't use bottle bac, that's for strictly dry rock setups.

Sure. Here's a photo with my cat. The one rock on the top left is dry. The rest is 60 lb of live in a 90 lb tank. I was told to pour in a bottle of live bacteria, yes. It's blooming here.

 

[brandon429]

the bottle bac wasnt needed or helpful here, but also not harmful

 

[brandon429]

this is a perfect thread for our side study