Pix & ID: Critters that come in your rocks: the good and the bad.

[friartuuk]

I'm wondering if these are flatworms. I saw these yesterday and pulled them off the glass and put them in solitary confinement until I can figure out what they are. I only just put my first pieces of coral in there this afternoon so I'm hoping they are reef safe (and if they aren't that there aren't too many more hiding out).

Sorry about the pic quality. I don't have a macro lens on my camera. One is on the left of the shell. The other is below it. Thanks!

 

[cloak]

I'm wondering if these are flatworms. I saw these yesterday and pulled them off the glass and put them in solitary confinement until I can figure out what they are. I only just put my first pieces of coral in there this afternoon so I'm hoping they are reef safe (and if they aren't that there aren't too many more hiding out).

Sorry about the pic quality. I don't have a macro lens on my camera. One is on the left of the shell. The other is below it. Thanks!

Can you describe them a little? Do they have any special characteristics such as antennae, or are they just a flat worm? It's kind of hard to tell.

 

[cloak]

what is this worm good bad or just ugly

I'm not really sure what that is. Does it resemble any of the worms in the link below?

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html

 

[mcavoy]

thank you so much cloak trying to decipher

 

[friartuuk]

Thanks Cloak, that's a great page of worms, but mine aren't like any of those. They have little antennae and a small ridge on the back. They are pretty mobile. I've only seen two so far and one seems to have melted away in the glass container. I'd rather not have this one die too unless it's going to create problems in the tank.

 

[friartuuk]

So I found a nudibranch expert online and emailed him the pic. It was amazing but by the next day he'd replied with an ID. He said it's an Elysia sea slug. The ones I have are still quite small but from further photos I've seen online, it's probably an emerald sea slug. They eat algae, but the amazing thing is they actually ingest chloroplasts from the algae in their diet and use them for solar energy! Apparently they're one of the only animals that does that - it's a step beyond coral using zooxanthellae algae!

I know hitchhikers can be a real hassle (I unsuccessfully tried to defeat aiptasia using Aiptasia X but a peppermint shrimp did the job.) but one of the benefits of starting with a base of live rock is all the neat critters that unexpectedly turn up!

 

[Martini5788]

Haha how in the world
Did you find a nudibranch expert? The Internet really does amaze me sometimes

 

[amber3k]

I'm thinking sand skater? Or at least hoping...

 

[Insp. Clouseau]

After getting through the first 100 pages of this thread in the last couple of days I lost my patience and jumped to the last page, anxious to get an ID for some stuff I see in my nano. The tank is running for about 2 months, I only added algae eating snails and 3 corals frags until now, algae is still very present...

First pic is an amphipod in my zoa frag, I managed to ID it myself after reading this thread.
Second pic is a small red feather duster. Do I need to know anything more about it?
Third pic is a completely unknown for me. They show up almost daily in my tank....
Fourth and fifth pic, bright red and very small, doesn't seem to move... Page 102 of this thread says red bubble algae, right?

 

[Syho]

No clue what this is

 

[bruindave]

what kind of tube worms are these and are they harmful? i got this live rock with all these tubes covering the entire rock. i realized i should've posted these pics here in this thread.

 

[alexander_ktn]

I'm thinking sand skater? Or at least hoping...

Some isopod I'd say.

No clue what this is

Looks like a sponge to me.

what kind of tube worms are these and are they harmful? i got this live rock with all these tubes covering the entire rock. i realized i should've posted these pics here in this thread.

Vermetid snails, harmless filter feeders (though in seldom cases the mucus nets they use to catch their food might make corals close up)

 

[bruindave]

Vermetid snails, harmless filter feeders (though in seldom cases the mucus nets they use to catch their food might make corals close up)

Cool thanks for the verification! I pulled off most of them because the rock was out of water for 3 weeks and most of them were dead. there were just so many... i left a few.

 

[Reefer54]

egg clutch

egg clutch

what kind is the question....

snail is a likely candidate, but i am wondering if they belong to a nudibranch i have not found....hopefully not the paly eating kind...any help would be great.

I didnt see a match on lionfishlair....but...

 

[cloak]

They look kind of like Nassarius vibex snail eggs.

 

[Reefer54]

cloak...you da man. that would make a ton of sense except i never see them out of the sand..lol.

many thanks.

 

[paperdesk]

Weird worm, pointy head, legs, swims

Weird worm, pointy head, legs, swims

This worm shot out of the rock tonight during feeding. It went right to the surface of the water and swam around like mad. Very active and energetic. It has a tiny head, antennae, and lots and lots of legs. The first third or so is orange, and the rest more or less brown. It's about half an inch long.

Photo is attached.

I didn't take the following photo, but it looks a lot like what I have: http://media.extreme-aquatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/100_0100.jpg

Any idea what this could be?

 

[paperdesk]

I suppose it's an Epitoke, it certainly fits the description! Still no idea what species though.

 

[Om3gatyp3]

any clue as to what this could be? It seems to be growing since I have turned on my light after cycle.

 

[Bakerman]

ID Please

ID Please

Any idea? Maybe some sort of juvenile mushroom? Seems to have 8 protrusions, a xenia of some sort maybe?