Firecracker dendro and ???

[opie77]

Bought this the other day. Was told its a Firecracker Dendro.

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Opened up slightly today when lights were on. Has small orangish tentacles. Fed it some brine shrimp and it grabbed it up and stayed closed.


This I have no idea what it is. On the back side of my tank. Tanks only been up for 3 months and was filled with dry rock and about 30lbs of live rock from a tank I had running for almost 3 years.

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As always, Thanks!

 

[Lynn Z]

Hi Michael, I can't help with the coral but I might be able to with the other item. First of all, is it adhered to the glass or is it something floating by? If it's on the glass, how large is it and do you have any snails - like Cerithium spp.? Also, is there any way you could post a larger photo of it?

 

[opie77]

Yes it does seem adhered to the glass. That spot is about 2"x2" square and the thread/string is about the thickness of sewing thread. Yes I do have Cerith snails. All I have is my phone camera, best pic I can get, its at an angle.

 

[Lynn Z]

Gotcha, thanks! It's probably an egg strand left by a Cerithium spp. snail (usually abbreviated as "cerith"). The Cerithium spp. that are typically available to us here in the US leave egg strands that are arranged as either a series of loops loosely tacked in spots, or as a continuous squiggly “snail trail” that’s fully adhered to the surface. They can be attached to anything from tank walls, to rockwork, seagrass blades/stems, macroalgae, equipment, etc. In aquaria, the strands tend to stick around for a couple of days, then start to disintegrate/disappear. Some species hatch at this time, which would explain the breaking apart/disappearing, but I've seen hermits picking at the strands so that's another possibility. I've never seen any fish pick at them.

As far as your chances of having a new crop of crawling baby snails, it depends on the species and the size of the eggs themselves. Some species have egg strands with very tiny eggs, while others have larger strands or masses with much larger eggs. Tiny eggs hatch as free-swimming "veliger" larvae with little chance of survival in home aquaria while larger versions fully develop within in the egg, hatch as crawl-away young, and have a good chance of survival (as long as they're not picked off by predatory fishes, shrimps, etc.). Most of the species we see available for sale here in the US have a planktonic/free-swimming stage but there are a couple I've occasionally seen available that do have crawl-away young (aka "direct development") and have reproduced successfully in aquaria. This is great, because snails in this family don't seem to be very long-lived. Astraea/Lithopoma snails can live 20 years or more and there are whelks that can get way up there (Neptunea antiqua, a temperate species can reportedly live to ~100) but these guys seem to mature quickly and are gone in maybe 1-1.5yrs.

Here's a list of species with their particular mode of development.

• Bittiolum varium: Planktonic
• Cerithium guinaicum auricoma (formerly Cerithium auricoma): Planktonic
• Cerithium eburneum: Planktonic
• Cerithium litteratum: Planktonic
• Cerithium lutosum: Direct development (hatch in ~2wks)
• Clypeomorus batillariaeformis (previously: Cerithium moniliferum): Either has direct development or a very short planktonic/veliger stage.
• Cerithium muscarum: Direct development, juveniles reach adulthood in just a few months.
• Cerithium nodulosum: Planktonic
• Cerithium variabile: Direct development
• Ittibittium parcum: Direct development

Here's a link with some photos: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/MolluscPIX/Gastropods/Prosobranch PIX/Cerithids/CerithF1.htm

If what you have doesn't look like the photos you see at the above link, let me know and we'll give it another go!
Take care,
-Lynn

 

[opie77]

Lynn, that's it. The 3rd pic on the link is what I have. Looked like some sort of worm at first.

Any idea on the piece of coral? It was opened more this morning when the lights were off. When I came home and my lights were on their "daytime" setting, they were open, just not as big as this am. Orange/yellow tentacles about 1/2"-3/4" long.

 

[Lynn Z]

Lynn, that's it. The 3rd pic on the link is what I have. Looked like some sort of worm at first.

Yep, a lot of people think the same thing when they see them for the first time!

Any idea on the piece of coral? It was opened more this morning when the lights were off. When I came home and my lights were on their "daytime" setting, they were open, just not as big as this am. Orange/yellow tentacles about 1/2"-3/4" long.

Well, what I know about Dendrophyllia spp. could fit into a thimble. I have no first-hand experience with them, so here's all I've heard/read about them:

• They're in the family Dendrophyliidae
• They look very similar to Tubastraea spp./"sun" corals (same family). Need to see skeleton to positively confirm, but:
• Dendrophyllia generally opens during the day, Tubastraea at night.
• Can be difficult to keep long-term
• They DO like good water flow
• They DON'T like too much light
• Do NOT over-feed. Although you'd think the coral would simply not open when it was "full", that's not the case. Excess food that's not digested will rot within the polyp, and be evidenced by tissue recession at edges, gaping of the mouth, and the tentacles not extending. Once you see the mouth gaping, it may be too late for that polyp, but don't toss it. It may come back, but if not, and the polyp dies (= tissue obviously disintegrating), remove the dead tissue with a turkey baster. Again, do not throw it out. New polyps can form around the same area. They'll appear as tiny pigmented dots at first. Feed with finely ground meat (of marine origin). As far as how often to feed the polyp(s) you have now - some say every 4-5 days, others more like once a week. I've never had these, so your best bet is to do some internet research for Dendrophyllia and see what works for those that have had success.

Hope that helps! Take care,
-Lynn