Thursday, August 12, 2021

Polly want a shrimp pellet

Stuck at home with a gimpy knee, I've been trying to lure a long, fat polychaete worm out into the open, so as to get her* photo. I caught her the other day near the glass wall of the aquarium, gorging herself on shrimp pellets.

Ragworm, aka king ragworm, Alitta virens, Nereis virens

I don't know when she arrived in my tank; I posted her photo a year ago, when she was a bit smaller. I think now she's about 8 to 10, or maybe more inches long. And very hungry; she gulps down huge mouthfuls of shrimp pellets and nibbles on green algae.

She didn't use to extend herself out of the sand cover more than an inch or two, but now that she's grown, she commonly reaches out 4 or 5 inches, retracting instantaneously with any movement nearby.

Her face is bluish, has an assortment of tentacles and palps, and four eyes. I've been trying to get a clear shot at the face; I'll keep trying.

Another, still a youngster. The tank can support several as long as I feed them regularly.

And while I'm looking at tentacly critters, here are a couple more:

Tiny anemone, showing the stripes on her tentacles.

Orange-striped green anemone, Diadumene lineata

* I named her Polly last year, since she is a polychaete worm. And with the name, Polly, goes a female pronoun.


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Condenada a permanecer en casa debido a una rodilla dañada, me he ocupado en tratar de atraer un anélido poliqueto para que salga de sus túneles debajo de la arena y presentarse cerca de la pared del acuario para que pueda sacarle una foto. La capturé el otro dia hartándose de pastillitas de camarón.

Primera foto: "Polly" (por su clasificación como poliqueto) Alitta virens, aka Nereis virens.

No sé cuando llegó al acuario: le saqué fotos hace un año cuando era todavía pequeña.Creo que ahora mide de 15 a 20 cm, o tal vez más. Y tiene mucha hambre. Abre la boca al diámetro completo del cuerpo para tragar pastillas de camarón; también come algas verdes.

Antes, no salía de la arena más que unos 2 cm, pero ahora se extiende hasta 10  cm o más, buscando comida. Si percibe algún movimiento, se retrae instantáneamente.

La cara es azul, con una variedad de tentáculos y palpos, y con cuatro ojos. Seguiré tratando de sacarle una foto de la cara.

Segunda foto: otro poliqueto; un joven. El tanque puede sostener varios, mientras les sigo dando de comer.

Y mientras estoy mirando a criaturas con tentáculos, aquí hay dos más:

Tercera foto: anémona con manchas blancas en los tentáculos.

Cuarta foto: anémona verde con rayas anaranjadas, Diadumene lineata.



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