Help with ID? (flatworm with a hard shell??)

[Blazer88]

I saw this guy crawling around on my rock this morning and snagged it out with some tweasers. It has a hard shell and a distinct mouth on the underside...which makes me think it can't be good to have in there. You can see some closed up zoanthids next to it for a size reference, I would say about 1/2" long. Any one have an ID?

 

[mmkeeper]

Looks like a chitton to me. Saw some on ebay for sale as cleanup crew.http://members.aol.com/dropnet/Snails.html

 

[NaH2O]

Definately a chiton. Here is some more information: The Lean, Unmean, Grazing Machines - Chitons in Nature and Aquaria.

 

[Sherman]

Just for the record, I saw the title and author and thought "Oh, nice! Guaranteed to have an ID photo we can work with!"

Chitons are cool!

 

[Blazer88]

Sherman, would you expect anything less? lol I tossed the guy back into the tank so he can keep eating algae He is one of the largest hitch hikers that I've found in my tank though, I'm glad to hear he is a welcome one.

 

[Sherman]

Well, you know how often we see those "What's this?"

"It's a big brown blurry spot that looks like you took the shot with vaseline rubbed all over the lens."