I ordered a sea squirt.

Some are hardy, some are delicate. Some have the potential to give off toxins when stressed, and some have a very short natural lifespan. I knew this when I ordered it, but I assumed I would be able to tell a live one from a dead one.

It arrived bagged like a fish. Not good--it should be bagged like a sponge. Some sources say exposure to air kills it, some sources say it can cause the tissue to degenerate, and still other sources make no mention of the air exposure issue.

It doesn't look at all like I expected. I thought I was getting a plump little orange tunicate; another cute little oddball to add to my other filter feeders. Instead, what I got looks like a wrinkled piece of poop. Is it degenerating, or is it supposed to look like that?

I'm going out of town for a few days, and I hate to leave it in the tank while I'm away if it will die and cause problems. But I can't just take it out to die if its not on its way out anyway.

I expected something like this:


Instead, I got this:



It is alive. Or at least it was last night, I saw the siphons moving. What do you think? Leave it in, or take it out?