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Strange critters..... what are they? + a video of strange monster lurking deep in a hole...


realypk

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Hey guys i got these on a recent shipment. Anyone know what they are?

 

So first off is this red what looks to be a strange slug.... found it on a red sponge i got, also some other strange oddities attached to said sponge! Good bad indifferent? Should I kill em or keep em? I almost glued the slug to a frag cause thought it was broken piece of sponge lol!!!

 

 

Red Sponge Slug (after some research self identified as Rostanga rubra looks identical, and seems that ribbon of eggs is it's eggs... seems to feed on sponge, now I have a hard decision to make let it kill my sponges and enjoy it as its such a cool critter or flush How quickly will one of these eat sponge? If I eliminate the eggs will it be able to make more? Could one feasably eat all my sponge or can sponge survive one?) :

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ksAgA4jV0vTccxFAgMW014S3yIdtMjEw

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1w4bhdKy-DXq4IKuZ2xabjMolMAobITqw

 

Eggs? (Rostanga rubra egg ribbon)

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_nx1ML4_JFeJv7TXQR75BBuhUB0Lu9Kc

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BrOo1h94BxXXxLPZl8ncwdwikmel8qCB

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LimhBHUpwr0P-WDZGtpzl--Ij3uL2H9O

 

White thing on sponge

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1spCd1CtZ_rTCRGu34zS_3SURB_mW61zk

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ndj5Kcxe31rwAzcfT4KKuDdi_5YnreVn

 

 

This anemone came in on a piece of hard feather duster cluster! Is it a pest? looks kinda cool....

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VxBkg-j-L1eFPVXnXXoTpONans_xU6lV

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wHIhZ-8B2YBK6TdzAkwCcbXlUfyxBMC9

 

 

Creepy tentacle monster living in a hole... (the green stuff seems to be cyano from the sump it grabbed and dragged in, it seems to grab detritus and pull it in, shrooms near it have died but that may be coincidence? My video skills kinda stink sorry!)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uSy10zwNm3mvqtYSIitzeWWPVb22jB2s

 

 

As always your help in ID is appreciated!

 

 

Edited by realypk
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If it were me: I’d get rid of the slug. If it eats the thing I just bought, I’d be upset. Rehome, or flush, but not for me. Same with the white thing. I don’t trust things I don’t know what they are. Finally, nem: is watch it carefully, but it’s brownish and not a standard hosting nem, so it’s likelihood of long term staying in myvtank would also be low. 

 

BUT, that’s just how I’d do things. Everyone’s different and has different ideas for their tank. The critters are neat, but I just try to minimize risk. 

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Red sponge slug - In general, ornamental sponges grow slowly and don't thrive in captivity.  Being eaten by a slug won't help.  Being eaten by hundreds of baby slugs will be even less helpful.  The slug will continue to lay eggs so long as it has food to eat. 

 

White thing- Can't tell what it is from the picture.  Describe it.  Is it alive?  Is it hard like a crab or soft like a slug?  Does it have legs?  How many?

 

Anemone-probably aiptasia with curly tentacles.  The oral disk also looks like aiptasia.  IME peppermint shrimp excel at eating aiptasia, but they don't mess with the kinds of anemones we like to collect.  Keep the frag with the peppermint shrimp.

 

Creepy tentacle-A harmless detrivore; maybe a spaghetti worm.  Safe for mushroom corals.

 

 

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Update I've removed the slugs eggs,  the peppermint shrimp seem to have eaten all the white things/stuff off the sponge so they are no longer a concern. 

 

Unfortunate news on the sponge slug...  it's cool, does it ever eat anything other than sponge if it gets hungry? Any chance of it surviving in someone else's system who has no sponges? I could bring it to the meet today if anyone is interested.

 

As far as the anemone it's been in the tank on the same rocks where 4 peppermint shrimp live, as with all new frags they quickly went there to check it out but left the nem allone. The pic kinda doesn't do it justice, it's got white horizontal bands and orange splotches mixed in with the browns and tentacles even get slightly bubbly almost like a bta but not quite....

 

 

 

What about the tentacle monster in the last video? It basically puts its orang/reddish tentacles out and reels detritus back to its lair... very odd.... it's also in a super still part of the tank flow wise.

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Nem might be majano, looks too beefy to be aptasia. They are both equally undesirable though. 

 

I forgit tk me mention the vid. Spaghetti worms are a bit thicker from my experience. Might be some tentacles from a micro bristle star? I’d keep that last one. 

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(edited)

For the vid monster. The tentacles are very fine/delicate and I doesn't really move seems to be a cluster of it and it horde detritus and eats it... pods live near it and don't seem bothered. It only does its thing at night.

 

 

Here is a better pic of the new size wise probably 1.25 inch. Is it undesired because itll take over the tank? And if so what's best way to remove it without harming the rather delicate cluster duster?

 WELnM6F_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&f

 

 

Edited by realypk
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