Odd invert Id

[CuttleGuy]

Hey I'm in north Florida and was collecting hermit crabs and algae when I came accross these purple flat soft lily pad looking inverts. They were all just slighty covered with sand on the shore line and when I picked them up a long tibe was holding them down like a root. At first I thought it could be a gorgonian or toadstool but once I put them in my tank they were moving around so it could be a slug. I found 3 different colors all shades of purple.

[hotelbravo]

Very cool! I am tagging along!

[Bongo Shrimp]

They are sea pansies and are similar to sea pens. They are almost impossible to keep alive in aquariums and require small particle size foods and specific flow (not sure what flow they would want).

[CuttleGuy]

Awesome thank you, they are in an algae copepod tank with pieces of this dead tree that was normally submerged in high tide with crazy amounts of life in them. Nitrates increased a bit since but we'll see how long they'll last. If they don't make it I won't collect anymore, but I must say they are pretty unique.

[Ron Reefman]

As a guy who does some collecting from the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys and like unique critters, those are so cool! I've never seen anything like them in all the snorkeling I've done. The reading I did says the NE Florida is the one place they tend to wash ashore after a strong NE wind.

Good luck with then. Please keep us posted either way.

[sam.basye]

Yes, sea pansies. Not sure how they anchor themselves in the wild. Every once in a while I'll find them in the shallow tidal areas of SC. The "foot/stem" for lack of a better word is buried about 6" straight down in real sandy areas and isn't attached to anything.

I have no real experience keeping them long term.

Fun facts: take one out and give it a slight squeeze or press and it will squirt water out.
In the dark, try poking one in the tank; it will give off a green bioluminescence.

[Ron Reefman]

Sam, the foot/stem that it anchors with is just a specialized polyp, similar to the ones on top.

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Sam, the foot/stem that it anchors with is just a specialized polyp, similar to the ones on top.

Interesting...

I wonder what it takes to get it to re-anchor itself after an uprooting? Mine just laid next to the main body and never attempted to re-anchor it's stem.

I wasn't a very experienced saltwater aquarist when I collected them a few years ago, and nuked my little tank a short time after introducing them.

Very cool critters though! I found them in a 2' sandy tidal pool at the beach in SC. Thought it was an odd place for them to grow.. and wondered how they got there. Must've washed in and dug. There were probably only 20 in a small 20' long area.

[Ron Reefman]

Well, if I even find some, at least one of them will come home with me.

CuttleGuy, was this an unusual find for you or have you seen these on other occasions?
Are the ones you brought home still surviving?

[kyliesreef]

I know you took these home out of curiosity buy would you not consider re-releasing them now that you that they don't survive in aquariums?


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[Bongo Shrimp]

Originally Posted by kyliesreef

I know you took these home out of curiosity buy would you not consider re-releasing them now that you that they don't survive in aquariums?


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You should NEVER release or re-release any organism from an aquarium. Once an organism is added to an aquarium, pathogens from many different areas are mixed together and could be novel to the release area causing havoc in ecosystems where it was not present before.

Rather than release an aquarium organism, it should be found a new home or it should be destroyed.