what is this hitchhiker????

got a hitchhiker on a piece of live rock. i was using this live rock to cycle the tank with and didnt notice this till now that the tank is done cycling. please identify this. is it harmful? worried that its aiptasia, but the polyps seem to be all stuck to one base. if it is now would be the time to deal with it with no livestock in the tank. please take a look at the pic and let me know your thoughts.

 

It looks like xenia or anthelia to me. A pinkish soft coral that alot of people like, and alot of people think is pretty bad.

 

+1 xenia

A good beginner coral. The only downside is that they are a pretty aggressive spreader. I have a few of them, and I try to keep them to their own rock where they won't spread to the main rocks. I've got some green star polyps(gsp) that I didn't and am regretting it.

If you can, I'd recommend trying to chip the section of rock with that coral off and glue it to a fist-sized rock and that way you can limit the spread of it much easier.

If you can't, then leave it and enjoy watching it grow. Better to leave it than to damage the coral.

Rick

 

Moved to ------ID this.

ID unless due to cause immediate harm to other livestock is not consider appropriate for the ASAP forum.