Help ID'ing this thing... (hitchhiker)

[bobbychullo]

I posted this in the "new to the hobby" thread because I am lol) but I thought it may help to post here as well...

strange worm/clam/mussel, i can't tell. Has a white tube-like sheath that it hides in. nocturnal and anchored to the rock in a crevice it seems, doesnt like light or my face. the appendage it sticks out is short black or dark brown, looks like it filter feeds. the end of the appendage looks split. his whole visible "body" is about 1/2 inch (this includes his white tube and his blackish appendage). His white tube structure opens and closes much like a clam shell. I cannot get good pics of him due to his position and his camera shyness. best picks I got...

thanks for the help

 

[Ohiomom]

If you want a defiitive id you will need to get a closer picture..don't think anyone would be able to tell from the pics posted. From your description it could be a barnacle..look them up. hth

 

[bobbychullo]

yeah, I was trying to avoid moving the rock since I just got it all in place... i have a barnacle hitchhiker as well, this thing is much bigger than the barnacle.

ill do my best, think i may have to get an underwater camera lol

 

[bobbychullo]

WOOO!!

well, I have two of them and one decided to leave his hole last night...

got some decent pics for an ID, I hope...

I don't think he's a bad guy, I took a few different angles to see his different textures.

let me know in anyone recognizes this little guy he looks maybe 3/8 of an inch. he crawled around my back wall all last night until settling where the back wall and sand bed meet for the daytime. (they seem to like night time better).

 

[Elysia]

Hopefully the mollusk man will come to give you some definitive help. It certainly looks like a bivalve using its foot to crawl around. I kinow that some of my small hitchhiking bivalves have moved about in my tanks, but I had no idea that they could be so Spiderman like, and cling to walls! That one is a regular circus act!

 

[jasonm311]

That's a neat hitchhiker,where did your live rock come from?

 

[bobbychullo]

aahhaha.

I have two of the same type actually, the other guy who has not moved from his hole looks a bit bigger. this guy popped his head out only a few days ago and then decided to move.

I just epoxy'd some rocks and the cloud that it released may have forced him out, I hope not. I tried not to use too much but these CA earthquakes made me a bit nervous so I stuck one rock to the back wall as security.

I also found a small collinista snail (think thats how you spell it) but haven't seen him since the first day. a few barnicles, sponges and small feather duster too. I have ANOTHER clam/oyster that seems permanently attached to the rock, hard to get a pick of him he blends in so well and is again, small. he has two holes when he opens up... the closest thing I think I could find online was a Cliff Oyster but I have no idea...

got the rock from Vivid Aquariums in Canoga Park, CA.

 

[musicalrebellion]

might be a limpet. i would take it out if you have a reef.
better safe than sorry.

 

[mscarpena]

It's not a limpet. It is some sort of clam or other type of mollusk. Limpets have a cone shaped shell and only a shell on the top.

 

[pagojoe]

It's a bivalve in the Ark Clam family, Acar plicatus:

http://www.conchology.be/?t=66&family=ARCIDAE&species=Acar plicatus

I've often found them attached to the bottoms of rocks or slabs, so I was surprised the first time I saw one relocate and climb the glass!

Cheers,



Don

 

[bobbychullo]

sweet! thanks! i had two books on invertebrates of the south pacific and they have no mention of these guys...

yeah! I was shocked when I saw the first one, then a week or so later a second one popped out of his hole but stayed put, then the other day I moved the rock around and that night he ran for it. I have been worried he's not going to make it though my cycle, I am through the first phase, my nitrite and nitrates are still high tho. He's half buried in the sand at the back of my tank, he seems to be feed ing still tho. the other one is still attached in his original spot.

-Rob