Help me ID this critter!!

[jlinzmaier]

Here are some pics.

Here are pics of it's underside.

This critter is about 1/2 centimeter long and about 1/4th centimeter wide (pics are of this thing inside of a 30 cc medicine cup). When poked at it trys to curl up into a ball like an armadillo and it has a shell with little plates like an armadillo also.

I've had an A. Gomezi colony for about two months now. When I got it I did my routine dip in Lugols, revive, and FWE. With the dip I noticed one of these little critters had crawled off the colony. In QT I found another that had crawled down onto the bottom of the tank. Before the Gomezi went into the display it got another dip of lugols, revive, and FWE (no further critters found).

After about one week of being in the display I noticed the tissue of the gomezi turning brown and a bit of STN starting at the base. The tissue necorsis continued at a slow pace so I did my best to give the frag more flow, direct feeding and close observation. For the last week and a half I hadn't noticed any further progression of tissue loss so I thought I had fixed whatever the issue was, however, today I noticed one of these critters on an area of the necrosed tissue. Not sure if it's causing the necrosis or simply feeding on the dead tissue but it sure seems a bit suspicious. Hopefully someone can provide an ID that will answer that question.

Thanks.

Jeremy

 

[Tayler]

i cant see the pics

 

[pagojoe]

I can't see the pics either, but if it has plates like an armadillo and curls almost into a ball when it's detached, it's probably a chiton. If so, they are harmless. Does the underside look like a snail?

Cheers,



Don

 

[jlinzmaier]

Not sure why you guys can't see the pics. They come up fine for me.

I did a search for chiton and that's exactly what it is.

Appreciate the ID even without seeing the pics!!

Underside does look like a snail.

Jeremy

 

[Elysia]

Wow, that shows how deceptive photos can be! That second photo looks like a flatworm. Even looks like it has eyespots. And undulating sides. Good idea, posting the underside of the critter.

 

[jlinzmaier]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14059321#post14059321 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Elysia
Wow, that shows how deceptive photos can be! That second photo looks like a flatworm. Even looks like it has eyespots. And undulating sides. Good idea, posting the underside of the critter.

Yeah, when I cropped the photo I was afraid everyone would just say flatworm, so I showed different views at different magnification levels.


Can anyone give a second confirmation that chitons are reef safe?? I couldn't find the "all clear - reef safe" in my chiton searches.

Jeremy

 

[NirvanaFan]

I haven't noticed the chitons in my tank doing anything bad. Their population seems to go up and down for me.

 

[Elysia]

Jeremy -- my Calfo and Fenner Reef invertebrates book claims that chitons, as a group, are almost wholly reef safe, dedicated herbivores, peaceful and inactive. I have found some inaccuracies between this book and other source (including the authors' web site), but in general it is pretty reliable.

 

[jlinzmaier]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14066538#post14066538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Elysia
Jeremy -- my Calfo and Fenner Reef invertebrates book claims that chitons, as a group, are almost wholly reef safe, dedicated herbivores, peaceful and inactive. I have found some inaccuracies between this book and other source (including the authors' web site), but in general it is pretty reliable.

Thank you very much!!

Jeremy