Help ID big reef slug/worm/caterpillar

[beeps4u]

Hi,

I was cleaning my tank today, and something fell off of my heater. I wouldn't have paid much attention, except it curled up like a caterpiller as it fell. I've never seen anything like it. It's about 2.5" long and 1" thick. It's beige colored with a row of six, knobby shell-like spots going down the center of its spine. It moves like a slug or nudibranch, but it's hard and rough, like a sea star. It thickens up when I pick it up, and flattens when I put it down on a rock.

I have a 200 gallon reef tank that's been up for several years. It's not the cleanest, most well-cared for tank in the world, which may be why the worm hasn't been noticed for such a long time...

Do you guys have any idea what it is? I've got it in a bag right now, and I'm not sure if I should put it back in the tank. I'll take a pic and upload one when I can.

Thanks,
Andrea

 

[NWDiver]

A picture would indeed help a bunch.

 

[ashton]

flat worm?

 

[beeps4u]

So, I've got some pics, but I can't figure out how to link them to this message. The instructions say I've got to upload the image first, but I can't figure out how to do that. The FAQ directed me to the user control panel, where I should be able to click on something related to albums - but I'm not seeing the link...

 

[beeps4u]

It might be some type of flat worm, but it seems more complicated than that. It seems like a cross between a nematode and a nudibranch. It's about the size of most nudibranchs I've seen, but it's not soft and squishy. And it's not colorful.

 

[dieden]

Upload your pics to photobucket and copy and paste the "IMG" code into thedialog box

 

[beeps4u]

Okay, here are the pics. I apologize for the poor quality.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Facebook pics won't work due to it being a log-on site

 

[beeps4u]

Darn, that didn't work. I tried facebook instead of photobucket, since I already had an account there. Try going to this link on facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1564445472&k=ZZCX4ZR6R3TF6BD1PEY5W4UUTRIB4UWCVSIPC&oid=448097447414

In the mean time, I'll check out photobucket... I apologize for the shortcomings in my internet skills. = (

Thanks,
Andrea

 

[beeps4u]

Okay, trying again... This time with photobucket.

This link should take you to the album.

http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee471/beeps4u/Slug%20from%20Fish%20tank/

 

[rainydave]

That's a weird looking thing

 

[rainydave]

Could it be a cryptoplax larvaeformis?
http://www.deepseaimages.com/dsilibrary/showphoto.php?photo=18558
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mollusca1.htm

 

[NWDiver]

Looks like a chiton though I would wait for a more experienced reefer to chime in

 

[jrgilles]

Thats pretty crazy looking. Almost looks like a land slug. Weird. Hope someone can ID it

 

[returnofsid]

Check this out and see if it looks like any of these. http://www.google.com/images?q=Chit...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1408&bih=649

I'm guessing Chiton. If so, they're beneficial. Yours is huge!!

 

[beeps4u]

I'm going to go with cryptoplax larvaeformis! Thanks! It looks exactly like the critter in RainyDave's first post. And yes, it is pretty darn big! Glad it doesn't kill coral - I didn't want it to die on my kitchen counter, so I had put it back in the tank while trying to figure out how to post images.

My gut feeling was that it wasn't harmful. I figured, if it was a bad critter, it would have done some noticeable damage in the past two years instead of inconspicuously hiding in the rocks for so long!

Thanks for the help!

Andy