Name of this slug creature??

eggy5404

eggy5404

Member
I picked up some lr from a lfs that went out of business. His tanks were all reef tanks. On the rocks there were this black slimmy things and I believe he said there were nudibranch??
Last night when I looked at the lr, this black thing starting moving. It looks like a flat slug and I saw 2 antenna's on it's head sticking out. I notice this on a lot of the rocks...
Could anyone tell me if this is good for a FOWLR ?? If I touch it, will I get stung? So i get rid of all of this black looking slugs??
I will try to take a picture tonight and post it..
Thanks for all your help..
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
There are a few things it could be and none are harmful unless you stick them up your nose. :p
A Black Fleshy Limpet or *Probably* a Velvet Nudibranch.
 
eggy5404

eggy5404

Member
Yep.. that my mysterious creature. I saw another one last night and it had a white stripe down it's back. From what I've researched, I don't believe they are harmful.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Scutus sp.
Elephant Slug, Shield Slug, Ducksbill Limpet
Order:
VETIGASTROPODA
Superfamily: FISSURELLOIDEA
Family: Fissurellidae
Scutus is not a slug but a marine snail with a white shield-like shell on its back. The shell is usually covered by flaps of the mantle, but they sometimes withdraw slightly to expose part of the shell as in the lower photo. It belongs to the family Fissurellidae which includes the Slit-Limpets and Keyhole Limpets so named because their limpet-shaped shells have either a slit or apical 'keyhole' to allow the discharge of exhalant water from the mantle cavity. Scutus has just a notched shell. The Australian species, Scutus antipodes, grows to over 12cm in length.
I am not sure why it is called an Elephant Slug by some popular authors, perhaps because like most fissurellids it has a quite prominent snout. The other two common names refer to the shell. Like all marine snails, the eyes sit raised from the skin on the swollen base of each head tentacle.
Many fissurellids are sponge feeders, but the general consensus is that Scutus is an algal grazer.
HTH just a cut and paste
Thomas
 
eggy5404

eggy5404

Member
Thanks for the infor.. Do these things multiply quickly? The more I check my lr the more I see. I must have around 7 that I've seen so far. Is this going to be to many for a 72 gallon tank? If so, I'll be giving some away.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
First off I did read a tidbit on this species devouring a pink pocillorpora and sps coral, but nothing else, could be the coral was dieing anyway.
On the breeding in the case of Scutus and Haliotis it could be a bit of both of them being a good hitchicker and in some larger systems a good breeder as well. Like all vetigastropod snails, they have separate sexes, so the will need at least one individual of each --- for breeding, but like many primitive snails, fertilization is external, eggs and sperms being releasd into the water. They are veliger larvae ar lecithotrophic, meaning they do not feed while in the plankton stage. As long as a you have a few individuals in an aquarium, it is quite possible that they could successfully breed. To what extend I do not know.
Thomas
 
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