Disgusting critter!!What is it!!

[Marie-France]

Soon after having turning off the light a monster has appeared in our reef tank. I tried to take a picture but if not moving it is almost invisible to eye. It is a kind of huge slug 6 inches long, a little transparent, with appendages on its body that make it look like algaes. The more strange is its head: it has the form of a jelly fish, with little tentacles on the border, it wraps the pieces of rock, sucking it, the little tentacles capturing debris and brigning it in the center...

No, I am not joking!!!

Good news, it seems more interested by what grows on the rocks than by the corals! But for God's sake WHAT IS IT!!!!!

 

[demonsp]

Wow knida sounds like a bristle worm but hard to tell . It may be in here.

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

 

[seapug]

sounds like it could be a nudibranch, flatworm, cucumber or medusa worm. get a picture!

 

[Ralph ATL]

Dear Marie-France,

there are many sites that you can go to that have awesome pictures that you can identify what you have when you can't get a picture.

Try this:

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchworms.html

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchhikers.html

also, go through this site until you find worms! http://saltcorner.com

(pm me if it gets blocked out)

Later,
Ralph

 

[Ralph ATL]

Sorry, but the first 2 links don't work!

Here's the homepage. It's an awesome site for ID. Save it for your future finds, too!

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchhikers.html

site 2:

http://saltcorner.com

Later,
Ralph

 

[pagojoe]

Hmmmm...

http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=meliviri

http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=melileon

Like those?

Cheers,



Don

 

[LeslieH]

Sounds like a sea cucumber, one of the deposit feeders. It feeds by sticking the tentacles one by one inside the mouth to coat them with mucus then picks up particles from rocks & sand and again sticks the tentacles into the mouth to wipe off the food & recoat with more mucus.

There's info on cukes at
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cukeselfaqs.htm

 

[Marie-France]

Pagojoe, That's it!!! Thank you very much!!! Melibe viridis.... You have no idea how I felt when I opened the link you gave me and I saw that awful beast again... Imagine, 6 inches of that horror!!! At least it seems harmless to fishes and corals.

 

[Playa-1]

I think those are kinda cool looking.

 

[Marie-France]

I surmounted my disgust to observe it eating, and I have to admit it is a fascinating creature