Hitchhiker ID on a Green Elephant Skin Coral

[seattlereef]

Took advantage of Barrier Reef's end of year sale and picked up a piece of Green Elephant Skin Coral. After doing an acclimation drip and a Coral Rx Dip I placed it in my tank but just noticed two citters on it. They appear to have a central moth and two feelers. I'm not sure if I should pull it out and attempt to remove them, let it ride and keep an eye on them or what. Appreicate any advice.

Hitchhiker ID on a Green Elephant Skin Coral

Thanks!

 

[jrgilles]

No idea. Might want to get this moved into the marine invertibrate forum. Good luck on the ID. I will tag along to see what these are

 

[trido]

Ya, Leslie would know. I believe it's some type of burrowing worm. Cant be sure without a more clear pic.

 

[user 26995]

I dont think those look like good critters. It looks like they are doing some damage.

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[seattlereef]

Not sure how to move the thread, but I agree didn't look like a good criter. Broke out the dremel and cut them out. They left a tunnel structure in the skeleton of the coral which I cut open then redipped in coral rx. Well see how it does thanks for the input.

 

[jrgilles]

Crazy. You get any cool pics of it?

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[user 26995]

Yeah, we love pics of things we dont often see.

I will see about moving the thread.

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[seattlereef]

Here's a pic after surgery with the blues on that showed up a bit better.

 

[user 26995]

Yeah, they did a little damage. Good thing you caught them. The coral should heal over nicely. I wonder what they were. Keep an eye out just in case they were egg layers.

Since you didnt get a pic of the worm or what ever it was, you have to draw us a picture! lol...

 

[seattlereef]

Yeah I'll have to keep an eye out for eggs. Sorry for the quality of the pictures still working on how to get good macro photos through the glass and water. My wifes a photographer so she has the right bodies but it seems like she doesn't have a good macro lens. Plus layered on top there is no auto mode on her DSLR so I'm just flipping switches and hoping for the best .

 

[user 26995]

Plus layered on top there is no auto mode on her DSLR so I'm just flipping switches and hoping for the best .

HAHA!!! I have an auto mode on my DSLR, but I still flip switches hoping for better. Hey it works sometimes. You just have to remember what settings you used.

 

[Chichas01]

I'm not so sure they were all that bad. I have something very similar, if not the exact same thing, living in my Ziggy Stardust monti. I thought about gluing their tubes shut but they seem to grow their tubes as the montipora grows around it. They don't eat the coral, they have 'nets' they cast to catch food from the water column.

 

[TJL]

They are or were Vermetid Snails, a non motile snail that cast out a sticky thread mass then pulls it back in when something has been captured with it. Not really a pest so to say but can be kind of ugly when population soars. Many Corals continue to grow/encrust around its also growing shell.


Cheers, Todd

 

[seattlereef]

Thanks for the feedback! Great to hear that it doesn't appear to be too destructive but I didn't like the fact it was leaving what appeared to be a "scar" on the coral. After the removal the coral appears to be doing fine and I'm sure it will grow over the removal site.