Coral Hitchhiker

[Gman1978]

I just bought a toadstool coral from Something Fishy in Northampton PA(An awesome marine-only store in the area if you are close).

My toadstool is doing well at Day 3 but when I looked in the tank I saw two tiny slug/snail like gray blobs with antennas cruising over the liverock base that the coral is attached to.

I would take pictures but I cant-they are that small. I thought one was small at a about 1/4 inch but then I saw his little bro who is about an 1/8th of an inch.

They look like snails without shells. They have a foot to move around and their bodies are greyish,white in color. Their antennas are very thin, white/light tan and long(about half the length of their body's. The larger "thing" also appears to have tiny tiny "hairs" shooting off the sides of their bodies(about 3 or 4 per side.

Is this some type of snail larvae? What are these things?

Chris

 

[romunov]

Try searching for "stomatella".

 

[Gman1978]

That is them

That is them

these are the hitch-hikers. I have two of them. Little guys huh? Do you know if they can travel across the fairly fine sand I have in my tank. I aske because this new coral is isolated from the rest of the reef rock. I have Astrea snails and they cannot right themselves or move across the sand. I constantly have to go on rescue missions.

Chris

 

[graveyardworm]

They wont get stuck on their backs if thats what you mean. They also breed in tanks, so dont be suprised to see more of them.