Weird mini mushroom cup looking thing

[chaples55]

Never seen anything like this. Popped up many months after I collected this cross-barred Venus clam.

 

[skrappy]

That is a first for me too. I've got no idea what that is but I'd love to see some clearer pics of it with a brown or orange filter if possible. Maybe some odd sort of hydroid or something?

 

[chaples55]

Here it is with full whites and turned around for a better look. It's pretty small so this is the best I can get with this phone.

 

[chaples55]

I think I found it. Looks like some kind of umbrella algae.

"Typically found in subtropical waters, Acetabularia is a single-celled organism, but gigantic in size and complex in form, making it an excellent model organism for studying cell biology."

Acetabularia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[skrappy]

Soo many things in the ocean that we know nothing about in the hobby. Cool find, I never would have thought it was an algae.

 

[shimshimshinil]

mermaids wine glass

 

[zoasandpalys]

Good find , I like goofy and weird things. Are you going to let it grow or pluck its life away? Would look good in a refugium

 

[chaples55]

Definitely gonna let it grow. I'm a big fan of weird things too. It's in a 4g pico tank that is my playground for neat little things that don't make the cut or are too risky for my display tank lol

 

[zoasandpalys]

Sweet, I won’t some already

 

[chaples55]

Sweet, I won’t some already

I'll let you know if it spreads

 

[chaples55]

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is the umbrella died. The good news is there are about 5 new stems popping up. What's weird is they're not growing on the rock. They seem to really like shells. Not on the clam this time, but on two different astrea snails! I'll post pics when the new umbrellas open up.