Anemone Or Hammer?

[betta fish]

Can anyone id this growing on my rock? it's currently only 0.5cm in size so still really small though it has grown considerably since I first spotted it and has a nice neon green tint to it, the rock is diy live rock that has been in the tank around a year so I know it hasn't hitch hiked I have had in the past a hammer coral and a bubble tip anemone in the tank but they both perished a while back, not sure if they can release babies in this way? it looks to me more of a hammer than an anemone, anyone have an idea? would love to get the hammer back as I accidentally killed it by fragging a leather coral in my tank that released chemicals that harmed it.  

 

[Donya]

Reproduction by anything except fission & fragging is incredibly rare in aquariums, except for a pest anemones and certain Corallimorpharians. I'm not seeing anything obviously BTA or hammer coral about this one. Have you compared against majano anemone photos? Majanos can be green.

 

[betta fish]

I have seen the majanos and yes it looks similar but it also looks similar to baby hammers people have posted online if even more so, is there any thing I should be looking out for to tell the difference? I am not sure how a Majano could end up in my tank, can they hitch hike on algae and other corals and then set up home somewhere? as it would not have been on the rock to begin with. I think either way I will wait for it to grow a bit more to make a more positive id and then deal with it from there, I take it if it is a Majano then I would have to kill it? I actually like the little thing! lol but I know they are no good 

thank you for your help.

 

[Donya]

Give the tentacles a gentle prod to make it retract and see if you can spot a hard skeleton. If there's no obvious skeleton and the tentacles are super sticky and stick to whatever you poke it with, that would suggest non-hammer to me. Also, bailed polyps are another thing that frequently cause IDing confusion with LPS, sometimes being incorrectly interpreted as offspring. If you had any hammer polyps fall out of their skeleton (a common LPS last ditch survival attempt), it could also be one of those that scuttled away, although bailed polyps usually don't last unless they put down new skeleton pretty fast.
 
 
 

I am not sure how a Majano could end up in my tank, can they hitch hike on algae and other corals and then set up home somewhere?

 
Yep, they can ride in on just about anything and then move elsewhere once in the tank. Macroalgae that hasn't been meticulously inspected and bases of hard corals are common places to find little pest anemones of both types.
 
 

I take it if it is a Majano then I would have to kill it? I actually like the little thing!

 
Depends on what else is in the tank really that would be at risk of being toasted. They are supposedly more potent than Aiptasia in that regard. I've never had them so I don't know much about their habits, although I've never seen an example of a tank being totally carpeted in them like is common with some Aiptasia.

 

[betta fish]

Thank you, I have prodded it gently and the tentacles did not stick at all, it only retracted a bit though so I never got to see a skeleton, it is so small so I think I will wait for it to mature before making a decision, will keep you posted! 

 

[372xp]

Could it be a type of valonia?

 

[betta fish]

The red algae in the pic is botrycladia the id is for the little anemone type thing on the rock in the foreground 

 

[betta fish]

Are we still saying Majano? took this pic today now nearly an inch in diameter it has no central disc or mouth that I can see??

 

[pingu2013]

Id say its a hammer coral im not 100 percent sure thou it looks like mine Colour is different and mine are fully open. this is an old pic
 

 

[stanleo]

Is it in the same spot where the hammer coral was before it died? I had a leather coral die and a couple months later I noticed that there was a tiny leather coral there. IF just one polyp survived, than that will spread and it could have taken that long for you to notice.

 

[betta fish]

Hi, no it wasn't there I think it died before I had introduced the rock to the tank, I think I may be able to see a reddish mouth in the middle now though but it is difficult to see because of the moving polyps so it may be a Majano after all. 

 

[betta fish]

Here is an updated pic it is now an inch or so across and I still can't make up my mind! it clearly has a mouth in the centre, do hammers have mouths? but the tentacles don't seem right for a Majano either?! 

 

[Donya]

Yes, hammers have mouths. That appears to be clearly a hammer now rather than a majano.

 

[betta fish]

Wow! thanks Donya I'm really pleased, I thought it was gone for good