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

Ok another, sorry for the bad pic but my wife has the camera. This thing is black with multiple anemone type 'feelers'. If you move suddenly or shine a light on it it retracts faster than you can believe in to just a little black bump. There are lots of these on one rock. Is it some kind of barnacle?

barnacle_zps089297a6.jpg


A second porcelain crab came out to join the first one. This one has both claws.

Porcelaincrab_zpse6945d72.jpg
 
Unfortunately that one is not also a porcelain. See how the tips of it's claws are dark and sharp? That means it's not a reef friendly one unfortunately :/ They use them to pick and eat meaty items you pay for. The claws of the porcelain are blunt and come together like shears to eat algae you do not want. I will let someone else answer the other ones. Depending on what is in your tank you will probably not want the crabs in it besides the porcelain and other reef friendly varieties.

(I see the confusion, BOTH of the original crabs are missing a front claw. The porcelain is the first pic you posted. The blurry one and the other one are the bad ones)
 
hogfanreefer said:
Wow, that's cool! Thanks Kim. I'll put him back in the DT.

I just keep finding things. Two shrimp that looked like pistol shrimp. Way to fast for a picture. Then this funny looking snail with a long tube like mouth part.

snail_zps20766600.jpg
Click to expand...

Not sure that guy is reef safe. Looks like a Whelk, which is a predator to other snails and clams. Very similar to the Nassarius snail, which is reef safe and only eats detritus or carrion. Read more here: http://www.melevsreef.com/id/whats_a_whelk.html
 
uh oh. There's a bunch of them in there. There were also several old dead mussels/clams and a couple of live ones on the rock. Will relocate all I can to the sump till I know for sure.

Thanks Kim and Devimik. This site is a wealth of good information distributed by good folks eager to share their knowledge. It is not unappreciated.
 
SushiGirl said:
The thing you think is a barnacle may be a vermetid snail. Harmless but annoying.
Click to expand...

What ever this is is not mobile, they are attached to the rock. I'll try to move a rock later today and get something resembling a good picture. Need to anyway 'cause I thought I spied two aptaisia also. I bet you can tell me in a heart beat when I get a good picture. I've seen them while snorkeling.
 
Vermetid snails are attached to stuff, they don't move around. If the base looks like a little pile of doggie doo, it's a vermetid LOL.

I just really can't tell from the pic, it looks brown & kind of the right shape for a vermetid, but lacking detail I can't really say for sure. It could be a barnacle, but doesn't seem like it being dark like that. If what comes out looks like a fan, it could be a barnacle inside an empty vermetid tube.
 
SushiGirl said:
Vermetid snails are attached to stuff, they don't move around. If the base looks like a little pile of doggie doo, it's a vermetid LOL.

I just really can't tell from the pic, it looks brown & kind of the right shape for a vermetid, but lacking detail I can't really say for sure. It could be a barnacle, but doesn't seem like it being dark like that. If what comes out looks like a fan, it could be a barnacle inside an empty vermetid tube.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry. All the pics I've seen of them were still photos. LOL. Snail means slowly mobile to us newbs.

Here's a slightly better picture.

hitch1_zps4cef934d.jpg
 
Sushi, I looked at all the pics I could of vermetid snails and this isn't it. It finally hit me this morning. I'm an idiot. They're feather dusters. I just didn't expect that many and they aren't colorful at all like the ones at the LFS. Just kind of gray and white. Will they survive my cycle?
 
AGreyCrane said:
Anyone know what this is? I was not seeing the same orange section of the body I was seeing on the bristlworms I found in my tank.
adQDBXz.jpg
Click to expand...


There are a few different versions of bristle worms. This is one.

I have a few of those in my tank too, along with the standard orange ones.

Look here:

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U2j4aL0CK4c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Alright, another one for ya. I noticed it earlier today all expanded out. Looked for it again this evening and it looks like it shrunk back down again.

zeEpXLRl.jpg

Ke02ZILl.jpg
 
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