Can someone ID this critter?

[ElLatino]

Found it last night. As for the little slug looking things, may be flat worms, but, please chime in if I'm wrong.















As for the flatworm (if that is what they are) how can I get rid of them withoutt continuously disturbing the coral?

[swjim]

I agree, they look like flatworms. There is a product called Flatworm Exit from Salifert that others have used successfully (disclaimer, I have never used it myself). Take a look at Melev's site for some good info: http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

[kar93]

The crab looks like a sally lightfoot

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSh...ylightfoot.htm

[kar93]

how did it loose its claw?

[scubasteve247]

nope, the crab appears to be a black mithrax crab, bad. get rid of him.
red/brown or green mithrax crabs are fine, but the black ones are NOT reef safe i can assure you.

as for the others dont look at all like flat worms, way to big #1 and they appear to have shells

looks like a frilly limpet or some kind of stoematella. absolutley beautiful if you as me, a shame if you killed them all

[ACBlinky]

Neat crab, but I agree he doesn't look entirely trustworthy. If you have a sump, I'd put him there. Otherwise, see if you can find someone who wants him - there's usually another reefer or a nearby LFS that will be happy to take an interesting hitchhiker off your hands. I hate killing hitchhikers if it's not necessary; it's not their fault they landed in our tanks, after all

[DocJim]

Those appear to be stometella snails and they are reef safe.

[flyyyguy]

stomatella-like for sure....but not the typical ones we usually see.

I think its a pretty safe bet they arent flatworms.

[Frick-n-Frags]

looks like a sally lightfoot (in the legs anyway) I don't trust sally lightfeet personally.

yeah, you have snails there, not worms. they are algae eaters.

[anomie]

Kinda reminds me of baby elephant slugs...suctus something.

[kar93]

Originally posted by Frick-n-Frags
looks like a sally lightfoot (in the legs anyway) I don't trust sally lightfeet personally.

yeah, you have snails there, not worms. they are algae eaters.

Thats why i though it was, id put it in the sump anyway just incase

[reefguru2]

It is one of the dozen weird crabs. Generally I dont leave any crab in my tank, all crabs are opportunists. I make exceptions for hermits.

As for the other things. They are not flat worms, the physiology is def one of a mollusk. It is either a limpet, or one of the many modified snails that eat algae. Generally black mollusks dont eat coral, so they are safe to throw back in.

[Paintbug]

those "flatworms" are fleshy limpets, probably Scutus sp.. they are usually harmless algae eaters.
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=scutus

the crab looks like a coral crab, maybe a Tetralia sp.. im not 100% on that. but if thats the case they are usually found with SPS corals, and will not survive without a host coral. they have a symbolic relationship with the coral. they keep it clean, and protect the coral as well.

[luke33]

Originally posted by Paintbug
those "flatworms" are fleshy limpets, probably Scutus sp.. they are usually harmless algae eaters.
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=scutus

the crab looks like a coral crab, maybe a Tetralia sp.. im not 100% on that. but if thats the case they are usually found with SPS corals, and will not survive without a host coral. they have a symbolic relationship with the coral. they keep it clean, and protect the coral as well.

I'd agree with this, you can see the antanae of the limpets in the second pic in the right corner.....put them back.

[kar93]

thats not a coral crab, coral crabs have a much thicker body and claws

[pagojoe]

Ya, "Shield Limpets" though, rather than "Fleshy Limpets." If you look up Fleshy Limpets, you'll find a lot of horror stories that don't apply to the Scutus species.

Cheers,



Don