ID needed Quickly please..

[Guygettnby]

so out of the corner of my eye i see this huge flat thing crawling over my sand and under my rock work....i was like WTH is that... lucky for me my camera was in reach so i snaped a picture and barely got 1/3 of the creature. then 15 min later it decides to come out again and this time i got a picture of 1/2 the worm thing.

this thing is at least 8+ inches long and 2 inches wide.

after doing some research i came up with 2 things i think it may be. but i am not sure and i need to make sure this thing is not going to kill something in my tank. i have had this tank for along time and this is the first time i have seen this thing. i have not added anything new beside a couple of small frags here and there. but there is no way this thing coulda hid on a frag. any how this is what i came up with.

Pericelis sp. flatworm or giant polyclad flatworm.

 

[Guygettnby]

oh and this thing has 2 antenna like things on the front top of it. also here is a video i found of something that looks exactly like it besides the antennas.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5719361977067721560&hl=en/

 

[JokerGirl]

Polyclad flatworm - Hope you don't have any clams.

 

[Guygettnby]

no clams in this tank. i have LPS, Zoas/palys and softies in this tank. then of course i have my clean up crew and fish. will this thing harm any of the above listed? i need to do some more research on this thing, but i need to know exactly what it is so i can look it up and be correct on my findings.

thanks all
Guy :bum:

 

[LeslieH]

It does match the color pattern of Pericelis (also called giant polyclad flatworm by reefers) but the only way to be sure of the identification is to send it to a specialist. Several other species also have the same pattern or something close to it; the real id characters are all internal.

Animals with that color pattern have been observed eating clams & snails. If you have snails in your clean up crew that have gone AWOL this guy might be the culprit. If not it's got to eating something else so if you haven't noticed any of your valuable livestock being damaged it maybe harmless.

It's surprising just how small a space these can hide in. They can fold up into tiny packages - think of a kleenex being compressed into as tight a wad as possible.

 

[Guygettnby]

thanks for the reply leslie, i think i may have to get this guy outa my tank as i have been missing some snails. this thing isnt strong enough to crack a conch shell is it?

my conch died but something cracked it shell. i do know i have a pistol shrimp in the tank aswell that i am trying to find right now.

 

[LeslieH]

They're not strong at all. If the snail or clam is small enough they swallow it whole, digest out the animal, then regurgitate the shell. With big animals they crawl inside the shell, evert the proboscis & start producing digestive fluids. The prey can't get away & is slowly digested, bit by bit, inside it's own shell.

 

[Guygettnby]

ahh, ok. wil this thing harm my crabs, fish, shrimp or corals? from what i have been reading they tend to stick to snails, clams and other bivalves.

thanks again for the help leslie

 

[Guygettnby]

ok, so i got lucky and saw this thing munching on 1 of my snails. i quickly took the rock out of the tank and got it. now my question is what do i do with it?

do people collect these things? or should i just flush it...

 

[smallreefdave]

Alrighty then, that was worth signing on to see! Maybe you can find someone that has another weird creature, put them together in a tank and have a battle, ala King Kong vs Godzilla.

If I find that plated creature in my 72 we can see who wins!

 

[Linesider]

do not just flush. never fush anything into are waters.. if you have means of keeping it live, take it to your Lfs see if they will take it on consignment