Sweeper Tentacles

[Donya]

Dumb question alert...do any kinds of nems have something equivalent to sweeper tentacles?

The reason I ask is that I'm trying to ID something on a rock in my 5-gal; I am seeing thin, short tentacles with white-ish fluorescent balls on the end, and several things that are obviously sweeper tentacles (being 3 to 4 times as long as all the rest, which are pretty much the same size). If nems don't have anything like sweepers, then I don't have to worry...but I really really don't want nems getting going in that tank.

 

[Navarre]

Anenomes sweeper tenticles are on show all the time usualy. These are the stinging tenticles they catch their prey with.

 

[Donya]

So there are no nems that have differentiated tentacles then? The length difference between the two types I was seeing was about like this:

If nems never have 2 distinctly different tentacle types like that, then it sounds like my tank is safe (whew).

 

[Navarre]

What you are showing in the picture seems to be a Galaxia. Corals like this keep their stinging celled tenticles hidden away (commonly called sweepers) and they are released in times of war and aggression. The sweepers act in a very similar fashion to the tenticals of an anenome, however the anenome keeps its on show nearly all the time.

 

[Donya]

The "sweepers",if that's even what I saw, were pulled in today, so I turned the rock over...seems to be a nem of some sort (ARG), but not Aiptasia and I don't think it's a Majano either. I have seen both of those up close and it looks very different. I may have been mistaken about the "sweepers", since up close and in good light, the tentacles look more like minature versions of this with lighter-colored stalks:

http/forum.kapalselam.org/files/IMG_0292Small_01.jpg

Pretty different from what I originally thought I was seeing. No evidence of the long tentacles...strange stuff. The tentacles may have the capability to stretch out as far as I saw before, but I havn't witnessed it so I'm fairly confused now. I wish I had a working digital camera so I could get a picture of this thing

 

[xNOTLOCx]

wait ya i have a long well 2 inches but a little sweeper tentacle or what looks liek one sticking out from nothing, there is nothing there and it moves around or floats but it has the little balls and everything, it retratcs, but i see nothing that it could be attatched too!

 

[Donya]

Just a single tentacle or more than one? Is it comming out of a hole somewhere?


Anyone know what species of nem is in this picture? (from the last link I posted)

I am pretty sure what I have is a baby one of those, and the "sweeper" tentacles that I saw are just fully extended regular nem tentacles. Is there any safe way to get a nem to move if it doesn't want to?

 

[Navarre]

Its not an anenome.

It is in fact a Heliofungia aetiniformis.
A long Polyped Hard plating coral.

Its a coral that likes to be placed onthe sand and is a bottom dweller. This means it doesnt nbeed the halides that most other hard corals need. Its one of hte few corals that can actually move itself across the base of the tank. Not very fast i muight say but give it a week or so and you might find its moved a couple of inches


They are prone to infection however and any slight damage to it usually causes its complete demise. This can be a problem with clownfish as they will usually adopt this coral as a substitute anenome.. If they get a little rough they have been known to damage and kill the coral

 

[mj32]

truly amazed how people can give such precise id's like that

Navarre you must be like a walking marine atlas 8)

 

[Navarre]

LOL nah


I do have alot of good books and have had experience with this species of coral too.
The reason i knew it was this coral was that it had very thick tentacles and the ends were very broad whereas most anenomes tend to taper off somewhat and give a more slender end to the tentacle

 

[Donya]

But...er...this thing is stuck to a rock I would be doing a dance on top of my desk right now if I had a Heliofungia but I thought they couldn't stick onto things? It really does look like the picture but is there no nem with tentacles like that?

 

[Navarre]

It might be a bubbletip. I have a dwarf bubbletip anenome and its no larger than 2 inches across, they look a little like this but the photo you have provided is definately a Heliofungia

 

[Donya]

The photo was the closest thing I could find to the tentacle shape, but I admit it duped me into thinking it was a nem shows how much I know lol. I looked at bubbletips and the match wasn't as good, but maybe when this thing gets a little bigger it'll become more obvious what's going on. I can't get a clear look at the base so maybe it is wedged in somehow. I wish I could convince it to move so I could get it in better light (then my dieing camera might have a chance). I guess I'm lucky it's doing ok in there given that I don't supply extra food or have mega lighting.

 

[Navarre]

There is another creature that lives in the rocks that looks alot like this. I saw a photo of it recently however i cannot remember its name nor where i saw it.

 

[Donya]

I think I just found a match! The aquabible ("Aquarium Corals" by Borneman) just came today and there it is...some sort of Pseudocorynactis. Even the tentacle arrangement better matches what I was seeing when I lifted the rock up again today.

Great...Corallimophidae. "The remaining few species that are tropical are sometimes available to aquarists, but little is known about their care requirements."