hhasty79 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Okay, this thing is about 3/4" long, with two rows of bristles, very flat, colored so that it blends with the coralline, comes out at night and cruises *very* slowly around the rock. (I mean, check when lights out and then again in half an hour, and it's moved half an inch). First picture is uncorrected, sorry it's a bit blurry... Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 I tried letting my image editor auto-correct the colors and it did a fair job... Link to comment
anthony812 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 abolone? or some sort like it i think..does it havea hard shell? and the shell look like splates lining downward...(<<<<<<) like the but vertical..? Link to comment
Sahin Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Could it be a Chiton? Thats what it looks like to me. Link to comment
NaNO ReeFiN Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 I have something that looks like that in my tank as well... only mines fast as hell.. Link to comment
Barry Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 It could be a stomatella snail. Sort of like a mini-abalone. I've never seen mine out during the day, and they are quite quick. Link to comment
Sahin Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Chitons are relatively slow movers and only come out when its totally dark, so I guess it isnt a chiton. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Maybe it is SNAILZILLA! It came out to say... ALL YOUR CORAL ARE BELONG TO US! Link to comment
Lunchbucket Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 1st guess a chiton...2nd maybe a stomatella but stoma's are usually fast Lunchbucket Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted July 18, 2002 Author Share Posted July 18, 2002 LOL @ OScarbeast...somebody set us up the bomb! The thing doesn't *look* hard like it has a shell, but I suppose it could...I haven't caught it munching corals or anything so I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. Chiton seems like the best guess... Link to comment
grantlaw Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 Hi Heather, If it's a chiton you should be able to count 8 segments along its back. Chitons all have 8 linked shells which are usually quite obvious (but occasionally covered by their mantles). If the thing has obvious bristles, I would have to guess its a polychaete worm, perhaps a scale-worm . . . does the critter appear to have a row of overlapping scales running down either side of its body? Or perhaps its a pokey flatworm (turbellaria). If so, it shouldn't have any physical features (other than showy colors) and appear quite . . . flat. Flatworms tend to be pretty speedy though. Hmmm . . . what could it be? Grant Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted July 18, 2002 Author Share Posted July 18, 2002 Oh...well...now I don't know, because it doesn't appear to have any scales or be segmented in any way. It's like some kid flattened a pea-sized bit of purple play-doh, and stuck tiny bristles around the edge. I guess i could try to catch it and get some better pictures... Link to comment
reef hugger Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 its a chiton. article by dr. ron here about chitons. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.