ID please

[jz]

I'm having trouble identifying what appears to be a mollusk that came with my live rock. Any help would be appreciated. The only notable thing about it that I can think of, is that the mollusk has a soft brown substance growing all around it. The brown stuff seems to thrive or shrivel away when my alk/calc levels are on target or too low respectively.

 

[jz]

Here is another angle.

 

[jz]

Where are all the reef nerds when I need em'?
Any ideas on this one?
Maybe I didn't post this on the correct forum.

 

[crgeltn]

ID

ID

Looks like a turkey mollusk. It's common on live rock and kinda cool to have in your tank. I have a few in my tank and feed them DT's when I dose my tank.

 

[kmk2307]

Hi jz,
Is this a bivalve (clamlike animal)? Is it possible the "brown stuff" on / around it is an encrusting millepora coral? If my guess is right it probably came on Florida aqualcutured rock. Is that the case?

Kevin

 

[jz]

Kevin,
You are 100% on the mark. The rock is from the florida gulf, and the mollusk is a bivalve. Is millepora coral soft and spongy to the touch? Any suggestions on care?
thx,
Jeremy

 

[firechild]

Kevin,
I think the guess of FL rock was a lucky guess .
I have seen those bivalves before from the GBR but have no idea what they are, I think I may even have a shell from one somewhere. Also Millepora spp. are found all over the Indo-Pacific as well as the Carribean.

Jz,
Millepora spp. are fire corals (hydrozoans) with a calcareous skeleton like Scleractinians.

 

[kmk2307]

Hey,
I didn't know that millepora was that well distributed. If its soft and sponge its probably a sponge. Sorry its not something more dramatic . I'll bet Dr. Ron could ID the bivalve and the encrusting stuff for you.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[mogurnda]

Turkey wing ark is the semi-official common name. I have had some stay alive for about a year now, although a few just died on me. They like lots of particulate stuff, like phytoplankton, and DT's is probably too small for them.