Nudibrach?

[Thorkot]

I just bought some live rock and I see what appears to be a nudibrach. It has crawed inside of a rock so i cant get a picture of it just yet. But i will try to explain it to you. It has a tear drop shaped shell and has frilly tissue all around the shell. The tissue is totally black, while the shell is light brown. its size is about 2 inches from front to rear and 1 inch side to side. Do you think its reef safe or should i try and remove it before i get any coral? :?:

I will keep an eye on it, if it pops back out then i will snap a photo.
Thanks

[Thorkot]

Well i have done a bit of reading and found out that nudibrachs do not have shells..i have no idea what it could be now..

[phistio]

perhapd a chiton http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/faq_chiton.jpg or a

stometella varia http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/img/stomatella.jpg

[Thorkot]

Here is a pic though the quality is pretty bad you can somewhat see it. I try to catch it further out and post another pic.

[Thorkot]

Ok I caught him this time, pretty good picture i think...

[Pineapple House]

Hmm...looks like a stometella varia to me, they come in all shapes and colours. They're quite harmless, and will graze along detritus, algae, and so on. Very good for the tank :)

PH =)

[Thorkot]

Thank you very much..makes me feal at ease knowing that he wont kill everything in my tank when i go to bed tonight. He is a very odd little creature :D

[steve1s]

I don't think it is a stomatella, the color more resembles the elephant snail. Also very harmless and an algae grazer.

Have a look....

http://www.seaslugforum.net/scutus.htm

Cheers
Steve

[Thorkot]

Excellent, thank you. That is it for sure. 12cm in length wow, i may be getting rid of an elephant slug soon...lol. My tank is only a 29gal.

[steve1s]

Don't worry about the growth rate, it's not very accurate and in the home aquarium very unlikely. I have had 2 in my tank for three years now and they are only about 2" (5 cm).

Cheers
Steve

[Pineapple House]

Steve1s,

Likely i'm wrong about this, but the shell shapes don't look too much alike for the Elephant snail.
http://www.seaslugforum.net/images/c126470a.jpg

And this picture:(Shown at the bottom)

The shells look quite different, although likely i'm wrong about something :)

PH =)

[steve1s]

The actual shell of the elephant snail is very similar to the limput. The Black area is more like a skirt that goes over it and the shell acts more like a shield than a shell housing. The slit at the top expands and contracts at will, usually not the same every time.

Cheers
Steve

[Fugly]

Don't take my word for it but I have seen a similar mollusc b4. It may be a type of cowrie. Which in that case is a great addition to the coral bearing aquarium.

[Thorkot]

I thank you all for your input. I am happy to have such a neat little critter in my tank. He has not harmed anything and he doesn't much like the light but he shows up every morning before the sun comes up.

[michealprater]

I have two in my tank and they have never harmed any thing. From what I can tell they are nocturnal. When you shine the light on them at night the white line disappears.

[Fugly]

Look at this Nudi... I wonder what type?
I think it maybe a rainbow?
Anyways what do you all think? :?: