Hairy Slug or Snail?

[Marcellina]

I posted this question in the beginers forum as well and no one could identify it yet.

A little background, I just started my salt water 29 gallon tank yesterday late afternoon. I put in some live sand and only 12 lbs of LR so far. The rock is covered with gorgeous coraline mostly purple but some red too. Anyway this morning I found a hair or bristly looking snail/slug thing on the glass it hasnt budged since 7am except roate itself a tiny bit and extract a long thing tongue or something.

What should I do with him?

Here is a picture:

[CarmieJo]

I think the hairs are probably algae growing on the shell. How big is it?

[Marcellina]

I thought so too at first but the hairs dont move at all. I thought it was a shell at first but its not really a shell. If anything it looks like a slug with some reddish algae on its back with bristles on it. Im stumped. I've been asking and looking on line but dont see anything that looks like it.

Its almost a half an inch CarmieJo

[rayme07]

It almost looks like a type of cowrie.

[Skurvey Dog]

Ok, I do have bad eyes and hard of hearing at times, but is the top of the shell hindged? It sort of looks that way to me. I could be seeing things. Reminds me of a shell filter feeder a bivalve sort of. I've just never seen one with a feeder like a type of snail.

[Marcellina]

I does sort of look like a cowrie. But I am thinking there is no shell on top almost just covered in purple red coralline. Im stumped. I showed the photos to the LFS guy and he thinks it could be a type of nudebrach? Im not sure what it is or if I should leave it in.

I just checked the tank after leaving it in the dark for a few hours and I noticed some new little tiny critters scurrying all over my rock they were like tiny shrimp or plankton. Whitish transluscent like. Some kind or looked like tiny oval disks. Hard to photographs they kept going into tons of little holes.

One disturbing thing I saw as well was a creepy looking worm that started to crawl and hide and then disappear when I turned the light on. It was brownish red with spikey 'legs' sticking out on the sides all the way down. caterpillar like. what could that be???????? Im uploading a few pics now.

[Marcellina]

New pictures! I put in another LR and as I was moving and rearranging the hairy thing got knocked over.




from this angle it almost looks like a little closed mollusk. This the back of the thing, what I thought was its shell.

[CarmieJo]

That last picture definitely looks like a little clam and they are common hitchhikers on LR. I have never seen one that was plastered on the glass though. The tube could be the siphon.

The worm is likely a bristleworm. They are often described as looking like centipedes. The common orange/red ones are beneficial detrivores.

The little bugs are likely 'pods and are very desirable.

[Marcellina]

Here is the prickly worm

[Marcellina]

Could the hairy clam/slug/snail be what is called a type of sea mouse?

[CarmieJo]

That is a good photo of a bristleworm!

[Marcellina]

I wouldnt want to meet that worm in a dark alley! He lives in a little nook in my colorful rock that I got yesterday. That one is rich with life. It has tiny fan worms, koko worms, the ever popular bristleworm, the little pod bugs. .. and the hairy little clam thingy.

Im not absolutely crazy about the way I have the rocks arranged and I do want to get a few more in the next couple of days. Is it a problem if I keep moving them in the aquarium and adding new ones on thursday most likely? I know that when you add new LR it creates a new mini cycle but since its still not cycled will it be damaging in any way?

Are all these little fun creatures I see going to die off before the cycle is over or are they keepers?

Thanks so much everyone in advance I know I'm full of questions!

[Amphibious]

Are all these little fun creatures I see going to die off before the cycle is over or are they keepers?

Thanks so much everyone in advance I know I'm full of questions!

The cycle can be harsh on some critters and you will lose them, others will survive. One of the things you can/should do is buy a sand bed activator package after the initial cycle. I've used Indo Pacific Sea Farms of Hawaii, ipsf.com, I think. For $100 or so, you get a variety of critters, including shipping. Check them out.

Your first picture looks like a bi-valve (clam) and the appendage you see is actually a "foot" he uses to pull himself along. He's beneficial but may not make it through the cycle.

The bristle worm is also beneficial. Yours looks like it could possibly be a variety that grows to large proportions. Keep an eye on him and IF he continues to grow larger, like six/eight inches, get rid of him. Some reach enormous size. The biggest I've seen personally is 3 feet but there is a thread on Reef Central where a worm grew to 10 or 12 feet. They eat many things at those sizes including soft corals, puppies and kittens. JK.

Dick

[Marcellina]

Thanks Amphibious! I think he its a clam too now after staring at it for hours. LOL Im gonna say a little prayer for the little guy, hope he makes it through!

The bristleworm on the otherhand will get no prayers from me. He is already really long maybe 5+ inches and he runs away everytime he see me and goes into the rock and then pokes he little head back out to look at me. He is planning something evil I just know it! Is this type of worm going to survive the cycle? If it does how do I get rid of it as I am planning to introduce some soft coral in maybe 8 months or so when the water is nicely stabilized. I dont want him reproducing in the meantime.

[CarmieJo]

In general bristles are ugly but not evil. Some people have luck trapping them in a commercial or home made trap. The homemade ones are usually a pop bottle with the top cut off, inverted and glued into the body or the bottle. You bait them with a piece of shrimp or something like that. You can also try to pluck them out with tweezers. I have a few bristles that are +6" long and they have never eaten anything that wasn't dead.

[CarmieJo]

Oh, BTW, rearranging the rock won't hurt even down the road as long as you don't leave them setting out of the water. Adding more LR over the next few days may extend the cycle a few days but should not have a major impact.