Hitchhiker on a Turbo Snail's Shell

[dacia]

I know when I bought the snails that I did not see anything growing out of the shell...but I now have one that appears to have either some coral polyps or an anemone on its shell. It is a pinkish color with lots of tentacles that sway in the current. I took a couple of pictures of it today, but they aren't the best. What do you think it is?

 

[dacia]

Another picture:

 

[rangermonroe]

cant tell, can you post a picture of better clarity?

 

[elfdoctors]

That picture lacks clarity but I'm sure I've got the same thing on one of my astreas that I ordered off swf.com. It was there when I got the snail. I was planning on posting a picture but don't have a camera yet. (I'm getting my wife a digital camera for christmas).
They are little polyp like growths. They open up under lights and close up at other times.
I'd love to find out what they are also! ID anyone?

 

[dacia]

I have been trying to get a better picture of it, but it is really hard to do so since it is really small.
However, it quite honestly looks like minature xenia on the back of my snail. When I looked at the new post by iluvfish, that xenia looked just like what my turbo snail was carrying around...

 

[dacia]

Any ideas?

 

[chinnyr]

Could be encrusting Gorgonia coral:notsure:

 

[elfdoctors]

I've never heard of that. I thought gorgonians were sea fans.
Will this grow in a fish tank? Any care required? What happens if the snail dies? Is it beneficial?
Any other opinions?

 

[fishman830]

i have that on one of my snails i beleive its a type of sps if the snail dies the coral will still live, what kind of lights do you have thats really all the care you need i have metal halide

 

[dacia]

And I thought I didn't have any corals in my tank yet. :notsure:
I have 130W of PC on during the day and moonlights at night. It's a 30 gallon tank. I know that's not enough for an SPS, but it must have been doing OK for me to not notice it until a month after I bought the snail.

 

[elfdoctors]

I have 260 watts of PC over my 75. The "coral" is doing okay. Will it get bigger?

 

[007]

I am going to guess that its pocillopora. A low light sps coral that spreads like weeds if given a proper environment. It spreads by polyp ejection. Where ever a polyp lands is where a new colony starts. Sounds like one started on your snail shell. If thats the case, thats a pretty cool snail.