Identification please
- Thread starter PTPuffers
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matts125
Well-known member
wow I have never seen anything like that before. by all means dont touch it with your hands, there are a lot of very toxic species of sea slugs and other such inverts that can cause big problems... I hope some one chimes in with an answer for you..
Matt
Matt
edwing206
Unregistered Member
Weird! Looks like a nudibranch.
Hi there.
That is just a type of Chiton.
More specifically, a Cryptoplax spp., probably a Cryptoplax striata, or Cryptoplax larvaeformis.
What gives this away is that most chitons have 8 fairly noticeable shell plates. However, in the Cryptoplax family, most tend to hide/reduce the plate size by hiding them in the skin. Notice that in your photos, there are 3 plates which are visible. The rest are just "the tops" of the other plates that are hidden in the skin.
Harmless in your tank, and not dangerous to humans. They eat algaes. When I ordered live rock from Tonga a couple years ago, there were about 10 of these same exact chitons dead inside the box.
Best,
Ilham
That is just a type of Chiton.
More specifically, a Cryptoplax spp., probably a Cryptoplax striata, or Cryptoplax larvaeformis.
What gives this away is that most chitons have 8 fairly noticeable shell plates. However, in the Cryptoplax family, most tend to hide/reduce the plate size by hiding them in the skin. Notice that in your photos, there are 3 plates which are visible. The rest are just "the tops" of the other plates that are hidden in the skin.
Harmless in your tank, and not dangerous to humans. They eat algaes. When I ordered live rock from Tonga a couple years ago, there were about 10 of these same exact chitons dead inside the box.
Best,
Ilham
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burning2nd
Well-known member
let him back......
krisfal
Well-known member
Anything harmless and eats algea would stay in my tank!
Jan
Well-known member
Yay, Ilham! 
Boomer
Well-known member
Elmo good job
Krish
RF STAFF
10 points for Ilham!!!!! We have tons of chitons (which we call curbs) here in the Bahamas in the wild (different species than in the pic though) but a friend of mine swears by them that they helped rid his tank of algae. Good luck Gary with it if you decide to keep it
We have tons of chitons (which we call curbs) here in the Bahamas in the wild (different species than in the pic though) but a friend of mine swears by them that they helped rid his tank of algae. Good luck Gary with it if you decide to keep it Tieg
Well-known member
My vote is to put him back in...sounds pretty harmless and for sure looks cool
That's good It's rather rare for this animal to make the trip. Most of the time they are on live rock and coral pieces. However, I believe, and just my opinion, that they come in more often on coral shipments, since live rock die off is rather big, and most die during transhipping.
I would have kept it in the tank, too. BTW, it is more of a nocturnal creature.
Best,
Ilham
It's rather rare for this animal to make the trip. Most of the time they are on live rock and coral pieces. However, I believe, and just my opinion, that they come in more often on coral shipments, since live rock die off is rather big, and most die during transhipping.I would have kept it in the tank, too. BTW, it is more of a nocturnal creature.
Best,
Ilham
