Dr. Ron, Please HELP ID this.

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Hi Dr. Ron,
I need your help identifyng this. I will give you some background information and then include some pictures.
Last night while doing some fragging I came across this animal. When I frag, I keep all of the corals in the water while cutting them. I then transfer these into a bowl. I had a sarcophyton that had been looking horrible and I decided to remove it from the display tank and put it into one of my prop tanks. When I removed the last frag from the bowl there was what I thought was some type of slime in the bottom of the bowl. Upon further inspection it is some type of animal. The overall length is app. 3" and the width is app. 1 1/2". There is a main body structure in the center that is app. 1/4" wide and 1 1/2" long. The overall coloration is a cream color. The top side of the animal has a darker brown waffle pattern on it. I think that you will be able to see that in the pictures when I can get them posted. The outer edges of it move similar to a ray. I think that this animal came out of the sarco that was deteriorating. About 2 months ago I had a major power outage and took most of my corals into a LFS. Other than my corals being there for a few days I have not introduced anything else to my tank for a long time and I have never seen this before. I have segregated this animal into a speciman container and it is floating in the tank. I do not want to release it back into the tank if there is the possibility of damage. Please help me.
Thanks,
Kevin
P.S. I will try to get those pictures posted tonight.

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Dr. Ron,
I am sorry, I should have read all of your information on posting first. I will re-post this during your time frames.
Thanks,
Kevin

[traveller7]

Sounds like a flatworm. I have at least one in my 60gal that shows itself every 4 months or so. Mine came in with Florida Live Rock.

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Hi traveller7,
This is not a flatworm, that is unless it is a mutant one on steroids. Seriously though, I have seen flatworms before and this is nothing like them.
I am trying to attach some pictures.
Kevin

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Another,
oops, missed this one

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

One more

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

This is the other.

[traveller7]

Originally posted by Aquatic Reef Creations
Hi traveller7,
This is not a flatworm, that is unless it is a mutant one on steroids. Seriously though, I have seen flatworms before and this is nothing like them.
I am trying to attach some pictures.
Kevin

Stop putting steriods in your tank ;)

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=146880&highlight=flatworm

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171764&highlight=flatworm

http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu6/

Your critter looks like a flatworm to me, but I am definitely not the doctor.

Good luck.

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Holy cow batman,
I am sorry and I hope that you did not take my sarcasim to heart. The flatworms that I have seen are the little brown/orange ones.
I wonder if these things munch on corals?
Thanks for the link and responses. I am going to send this critter on to the ocean in the sky.
That is unless someone wants it:D
Kevin

[zep]

Hi,

It's my opinion that that is some type of carniverous nudibranch which most likely feeds on sarcophytons and is the cause of your particular coral's ill health.

Inspect all your new cuttings for spiral shaped egg masses that will likely blend in color with your coral or may be white. If found, move the coral from your tank to a bowl, brush the eggs away with a soft toothbrush, rinse and return the specimen to your tank. If more nudibranchs are found remove them as well. Tweezers are helpful if you are careful.

Just my advice,

[traveller7]

Originally posted by Aquatic Reef Creations
Holy cow batman,
I am sorry and I hope that you did not take my sarcasim to heart. The flatworms that I have seen are the little brown/orange ones.
I wonder if these things munch on corals?
Thanks for the link and responses. I am going to send this critter on to the ocean in the sky.
That is unless someone wants it:D
Kevin

No sweat here Robin ;)

There are surely more flatworms then names. Apparently even the little brown/orange ones are predators, copepods maybe?

Again, I am not the doctor but I don't believe you have a nudibranch because it does not appear to have the gill structures.

net-net: While I am a big fan of diversity, I don't think it is a beneficial creature in a closed system.

Good luck.

[rshimek]

Hi,

It is a flatworm, more specifically a polyclad flatworm. Check out this site (http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~bu6/) if you want to try to identify it a bit further.

Definitive identification is likely impossible because it normally involves knowing which geographical area the animal originated in, and that is unlikely in this case.

Polyclads are generally considered to be carnivores and some of them can get huge. The largest I have seen (from the Pacific NW) was about the size of a pancake....

In our aquaria, polyclads have been seen preying on snails, clams (such as Tridacna), and some corals. Depending on the species they may also eat tunicates, amphipods, and possibly hermit crabs.

:D

[Aquatic Reef Creations]

Dr. Ron,
Thank you so much for responding. In the future I will make sure and check the guidlelines for posting in your forum.
Thanks to all of have posted and enlightened me as to the icentification of this animal.
Kevin