nocturnal pest anemone

sunce_22 · #1 04-02-2009, 05:24 AM

I started up a 15 gallon and put in some live rock. Long story short, there are NOCTURNAL pest anemones that are only stretching out at night. They look like aiptasia but are a different colour (darker, dark green oral disc with a white line going down one side of it [radius] reaching to shorter tenticles) It is always curled up in the day and stretches out at night....

I will try to get a picture but do you have any ideas off the top of your head?

sunce_22 · #2 04-02-2009, 05:36 AM

Here is the picture of this strange nocturnal "beast". Any ideas? I took this right after I turned the light on, it immediately started to recede along with his other friends...

If you have any ideas please let me know!

Delphinus · #3 04-02-2009, 05:40 AM

Looks a little like a majano to me, but the ones I have are out during the day so I don't know if some are nocturnal or if it's something else. If it is majano you've called it correctly on it being a pest. How big are they?

Alberta-newb · #4 04-02-2009, 06:20 AM

Tagging along, I've got a couple of these as well and are nocturnal as you have described. Would love to learn more about them. They haven't spread so far (1 year since I set up) and don't seem to be an issue. Not saying they aren't a pest as I also have one mojano that only split into two in the same period....not a pest yet, but they're going out this week anyway just to be safe

sunce_22 · #5 04-02-2009, 07:14 AM

I know it sounds weird that its nocturnal, but at night it closes right up and simply looks like zoa almost? but it has more of an hourglass shape, not simply round.

There are a total of three in my tank that I have found. I had a mojano once before, but it actually looked like a mini anemone, but this reminds me more of aptasia or a polyp.

Any more ideas?

sunce_22 · #6 04-02-2009, 07:16 AM

The disc is about one cm in diameter, it has a white line going through half of it... and on a seperate on in my tank - the white line goes the whole way.

sunce_22 · #7 04-02-2009, 07:23 AM

to me it looks similar to this black sun coral?

[taken from lareefs.com]

Mine:

or is it just wishful thinking because its nocturnal? lol

BC564 · #8 04-02-2009, 02:35 PM

It looks alot like the black sun coral....and would explain the nocturnal part.....does it have a skeletal tube or anemone type tube?

justinl · #9 04-02-2009, 06:43 PM

no doubt in my mind. majano. You have to remember that majano is not a single species; i believe it is a genus of anemones... not sure. Aside from obvious physical differences, there may be behavioral differences between the species as well. anyways, I've had these nocturnal majanos as well as the diurnal ones.

sunce_22 · #10 04-02-2009, 06:56 PM

awesome thanks! it will be taken care of then lol