does anyone know what this is?

[pipebash]

this came on a frag of frogspawn. pretty cool looking just need to know if its reef safe, thanks

 

[rcmike]

I believe it is an abalone. I think they are all algae eaters but not for sure.

 

[LeslieH]

Wow - a tropical abalone, very cool. Mike's right, they are all algae eaters.

 

[TheH]

Did you have much difficulty prying it off, I heard that it is supposed to be a hassle.

 

[pipebash]

i tried gently prying it off, it was impossible. I had to get it to partly attach to a small piece of live rock rubble then lift it partially out of the water so it completely went onto the piece of rubble and off the frag. thanks for the quick responses guys.

 

[mscarpena]

Very cool hitchhiker. I love them, but they are like $20.00. Nice freebie.

 

[Frogmanx82]

They are hard to buy because you can't pull them off rocks. They are similar or in the same family as stomatella snails.

 

[LeslieH]

They are similar looking but Stomatellas are actually trochids while Haliotis are in family Haliotidae. You can always tell the difference by the row of air holes along 1 edge of the shell in Haliotis.

 

[pagojoe]

Yep, it's the Donkey Ear Abalone, Haliotis asinina. I don't think I've ever seen one as a hitchhiker, although they do show up for sale occasionally. The grow to about 5 or 6 inches:

http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_119.shtml

Cheers,



Don

 

[Frogmanx82]

They are similar looking but Stomatellas are actually trochids while Haliotis are in family Haliotidae. You can always tell the difference by the row of air holes along 1 edge of the shell in Haliotis.

Thanks for that.

 

[pipebash]

wow 5-6 inches... so what youre tellin me is if I keep it in good health I've got a nice appetizer. :hammer: thanks for the info, very helpful.