Where are these things coming from, another visitor from ?

[Luvthekeys]

Okay I watched him climb a rock like a snail and his head did look like a snail. But where is his shell. Am I mistaken in believing Snails do not shed their shells? Here are three photos of it, Mostly white with a splash of pink towards the top front. He is almost dead center in the photo just above and to the left of the mushroom. Alsd he is about an inch in diameter same size as my Astrea Snails.







Any ideas?

 

[flower]

Okay, the picture is clear enough to be able to see, but I can't find it...LOL, can you circle the spot? The pinkish looking blob seems too round to be what you are talking about.
What you describe could be a sea slug, or isopod... they come on the live rock and are algae/detritus eaters. Isopods have legs because it's a sea bug...slugs are snails without shells. Nudibranchs are snail like, fancy looking slugs, they often hitchhike on coral, and I don't think they are good to have.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Yes the pinkish thing is the thing I am talking about. I can see his little antenna and he moves just like a snail or slug. If he was in the live rock he has been hiding for a month.

 

[pegasus]

I can't see a snail-like head in the picture, but the description sounds like a stomatella varia. These snails don't have a shell that they can retract into, but rather a small plate on their backs just behind the head. It can a little difficult to see this plate. If you notice something that looks like a small fingernail stuck to it's back, it stomatella. It's possible that it might be a slug of sorts, but there's not enough visual evidence to confirm or deny that. Not likely a nudibranch as I don't see any wings or ruffles.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Pegasus I believe you are right about it being a Stomatella snail. There is a small pink area just behind the head so it matches your description. Now the question, he is not small so where was he hiding for the past more the three weeks? I suspect he is a good hitchhiker based on your description. I wonder what next will show up.

 

[pegasus]

My stomatellas got pretty large, over an inch long. They're mostly nocturnal, so it's rare to see them when there's any light in the tank. Not sure where they hide, but if I were to guess, I'd say it must be in holes in the rocks. You never know what'll show up next. I caught a glimpse of of the bottom side of another small crab last night. I haven't added anything new lately, so there's no telling how long it avoided detection. There's probably quite a few more critters in our tanks than we realize...