Very swollen zoanthid polyp

B

Ben

Premium Member
Has anyone ever seen a zoa polyp develop what looks like a blister that is 3 to 4 times the normal size of the polyp? I have a patch of eagle eyes and one of the polyps is doing this. All the other polyps in the colony look fine. No sign of any nudibranchs, flatworms, or predator snails.

Here's a pic. A lot of polyps are closed up because I had to move it to snap the picture but they're all back open in a couple minutes after I put it back where it was. What's weird is there is a polyp on the side of the blister that is open and happy.
[attachment=0]20130510_211731 (Custom).jpg[/attachment]
 
Try brushing off the top (end) gently. I had a similar thing a long time ago, and it looked like something tied a string around the tip, like one would tie off a balloon. If you can carefully get that off, the end may be able to open it up again. Let us know what happens.
 
Wasn't able to get anything to come off it while brushing and poking at it with a soft toothbrush but I did get it to deflate quite a bit by holding slight pressure on it. It is just a big bubble full of water. If it swells back up should I try cutting it open with a scalpel to keep the pressure from building up again?
 
A small snip on one edge might break the tether I was referring to. I can't see it in the picture, but the tip of that thing looks like a tiny thread could be creating that nipple-looking effect.
 
No, the whole top was smooth. There is a circular pattern on the surface but I didn't feel anything there. It seems like the water blister is in the base the polyps grow on because the blister has a fully formed polyp sticking out of it's side.
 
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