ID this hitchiker!

[Husky_Jim]

Hello to all!
Yesterday, when i was feeding the fish on my mini 20g mini reef tank,i found this guy on a rock.....
Can you tell me what he is?Is he safe for my tank?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[lizardarm]

appears to be a nudibranch.
don't know if it's safe or not.
many of them are not.

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

Looks like a nudibranch. Do you have soft corals in the tank? A lot of times they resemble what they eat (i.e. look like the polyp of a zoanthid).

Hope this helps!

 

[MCSInc]

Wow,

Great picture.

 

[gehidore]

I'd agree with nudibranch, great photography.

 

[lizardarm]

i'll jump on this bandwagon-
that really is an excellent pic!

 

[64Ivy]

Not sure what type of nudi it is but then, I'm a believer in removing things I'm not sure about.

 

[Husky_Jim]

Thanks for your replys guys!

I removed this guy since i never seen him eating any aiptasia at all and he was found between some button polyps which the last few days where 'closed' and that drove my attention and i finally found him.

Thanks also for your comments on the pic.If someone wants it for refference feel free to use it!



Great forum....

 

[Sushi Reef]

i found this but i dont know if it will help... they look like the same .. with the same poylp feeding

heres the link to the page
http://www.livejournal.com/users/krull/39757.html


interestingly enough, i found some predatory nudibranchs in the aquarium recently that have been feeding on the polyps. this is where reef keeping becomes truly cool -- the polyps have a symbiotic relationship with a flourescent marine algae called zooxanthellae that causes them to display various bright colors, and also allows them to get energy from photosynthesis (the algae produces sugar via photosynthesis that feeds the polyp). along comes the nudibranch and does the most amazing thing -- it eats the tentacles of the polyps, and not only does it absorb the zooxanthellae and begin flourescing the same color as the polyp, but it also forms a symbiotic relationship with the algae in the same way. BUT! that's not the really cool part... the nudibranch also steals the stinging cells of the polyp's tentacles and incorporates them into the spines on its back! not only has it stolen the polyp's symbiotic relationship, but it's also absorbed the polyp's own cellular defenses and keeps those cells alive in its service. tell me that isn't cool!

here's a pic of some of the wee nudibranchs cooling their heels in a tea cup:

the site had this link which is full of nudis

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nudibran.htm

 

[Oscapus]

Your Nudi seems like a cool dude, I hope all works out for him.

 

[Maxx]

That looks alot like a Zoo predatory nudibranch....unless you're really attached to him, (and dont mind the expensive diet), I'd follow 64Ivy's lead and remove it from the tank.

Nick

 

[Angelscrx]

If you have zoos in your tank. Pull them out do a lugols dip. This has been known to get these nudis off the zoos but won't kill them. They will dessimate your zoos and they reproduce rather quickly. I have them in my tank and I pick them out any chance I get. HTH?