Id please, if possible

johnny5

Member
Ok, I just started my tank up. I bought 50lbs of cured figi for my 46 bow. When I got it home it really seemed to be "alive", like very very alive tons of pods and other bugs, worms, dusters, and things I would put in the "other category".. Just wanted to see if anyone could help with id'ing some of these. I could not get any close-ups with my digi (its a 4 megapixel, so I think its just getting the zoom settings tweaked), but i'll work on that.
1- Is this a trapped invert or the weirdest worm ever? In one of my rocks near the sandline is a small alcove. Inside twards the top back there is a small hole.. All through out the day a small little worm looking thing comes out of the hole(when closed up its inside out, much like a snails eye, but way bigger) to eat, its tan with black zebra strips. It belly/underside is all tan. When it comes out all the way it looks like an elephants trunk, its not a fduster either.. It has tenacles but only about 10-15 of them all single file around the "mouth".. which is very flat at the end. Its double the size of a spagetti noodle. Its pretty weird, seems to like eating the junk that accumulates in the little cove. And it will pull in a food pellet if you put it close by. Doesn't seem to have eyes or anything else. I think its a trapped mollusk or something not sure. VERY WEIRD, but cool none the less.
2- some sort of shrimp, I thought it was a mantis at first. But I dont think so after looking at more pics online (the consciencous marine aquarist has nothing on these weird things). It has 2 fairly big eyes, that are not round they are kind oval. Sorta like looking at the guts of an orange up close. And it has mustache like whiskers on its face.
It was in a small hole for a few days, but it push a ton of sand near the entrance to block it. I moved it away to see if he was still in there, and he put it all back. weird little guy, really timid.
3- In an underhang of one of my rocks, it looks like there is a muscle or clam of some sort. Its attached to the rock tho, it seems to "breathe" but its definitely attached and doesn't move.
Any idea's what the hell these things are?
Thats it for now (my fingers hurt from typing), I did see some more "worms" and other stuff. I wish there was a book out there that categorized all these cool creatures.
Please ignore, well, my ignorance if any of these are common hitchhikers on live rock.
 

rbmount

Active Member
Welcome, #! may be a peanut worm, use the search tab at the top of the page and you'll find pictures of it. #'s 2 & 3 I don't have any idea. Pictures would be a help. If I can find it, I'll post a link to a site with tond of pictures to help you identify it.
 

johnny5

Member
COOL! Thanks rdm, its definitely a peanut worm. I checked my tank last night with a flashnight and I found 1 more. So we got 2 of them, one is more brown and nocturnal. And the other is tan and black and feeds 24x7. I appreciate the info!!
From what Im reading they are good to have(?). But can anyone explain the pros/cons or is there much known about them?
About #2, I got a semi clear pic of him (right before my 4th set of lithium batteries ran out). I'll attach it to the message. Sorry for the blurry amateur shot.. Im working on the shutter and zoom settings, which is a pain with digicams.
 

johnny5

Member
So far I have found:
1 crazy fast dark sprial shelled snail
1 double decker duster (has a crown inside another crown)
2 green soft transparent duster looking things
1 duster cluster on one small piece of flat rock
1 clam or muscle thats embeded in the rock, appears to be alive tho(i would assume it doesn't need light because its really deep in the rock)
2 peanut worms (each are different types)
2 spikey urchin looking things. could be something else just really small. One is pink and one is white
And 1 purple xenia or something, it looked purple goo. I thought it was just coralline, then all these polyp looking things popped out.
And a ton of "other stuff" that has yet to grow enough to id
The lr is full of small and medium sized pods and really small bristle worms (my girlfriend named them all spike). And there are a ton of things that may wake up once the tank starts to mature. :) Im going to take it really slow so these little critters dont die.
About that pic above, to give you an idea of scale.. That hole the "critter" is in is about the size of a fat old-school mcdonalds straw, maybe an mm or 2 larger. Maybe 1/2 to 5/8ths of an inch. Is this a baby hermit crab with no shell? Or a really large pod?
OHHH UPDATE: The critter pushes sand to the entrance of the hole at night and removed it during the day. He's pretty cool!
 

johnny5

Member
After more research, I think my #2 critter is actually a crab. Possibly a paguritta? Can anyone validate this? And do you have any advice on what I should feed him?
 

cholland

Member
From your picture it looks like your critter is a species of mantis. Have you seen the body?
I also bought some rock from Fiji and acquired a little critter that looks like him. After I stayed up one night and caught a glimpse of his body, and posted a few more pictures, it confirmed it.
HTH
-C
 

cholland

Member
Oh...
I forgot to mention if you want some detailed info and alot of pictures of mantis let me know and I can email you a link to go look at.
There are alot of different kinds and the pictures are really amazing.
 

barry cuda

Member
Depending on how long it takes you to catch the little bugger, I might be interested in taking him off yer hands... I'm going to set up a mantis tank in the near future.
 

johnny5

Member
Oh man, that sucks. I have no idea how I am going to get him outta there. I'll try the 20oz plastic bottle method tonight.
I really appreciate this help on this, I fed him last night with some carnivore pellets thinking he was an ok resident, LOL. He seemed to like emm so I'll try using that as bait.
Thanks for the help id'ing these! :)
Would anyone be interested in this little mantis after I catch him? Im going to stick him in my refuge with a small piece of rock for now.
 

johnny5

Member
Im probably up for that barry, I plan on catching him in the next couple days. I dont want to do a fw dip, as I got some xenia or something (my first coral) growing on the same rock. I'll figure something out tho.
Also, how I would I ship him out? Would a small rock/triple bagged method work? Im in south florida.
I'll try to get a good pic of his body when I catch him.
 
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