What is this?

[davelin315]

Can't figure out what this is, maybe you can help me out.

What is this?
Try http://www.geocities.com/davelin315/whatisit.html if the link doesn't work above. While you're at it, check out the hermit crab too, and let me know if you can ID it. The colors are correct on it, by the way.

[ August 13, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]

 

[Anonymous]

Davelin,
I used to have a ton of those hermits in my tank when I lived in Hawaii. I used to grab them off the rocks at low tide. Hungry little buggers. They love macroalgae. And anything else for that matter.

 

[davelin315]

Hey Moe, thanks for the reply. I grabbed them when I was in Hawaii. Haven't had a problem with them eating anything alive as far as corals, fish and clams are concerned, but have seen them eating dead stuff on the bottom. Do you know what species they are? By the way, checked out your web page, nice tank, really liked the old lighting pictures with all the purple coralline algae giving your tank a purple hue.

 

[Fredfish]

Dave. The snail is probably Stomatella varia. It's hard to tell from your pics, but the description and size fit. It feeds on algae on your rocks etc.

Fred.

 

[Jrsydevi1]

Yes, Dave..
Sounds like the same thing I have.. It NEVER moves! It stuck on the mussel for a month, fell off, crawled up to a spot on the glass, and hasnt moved since (2 months)..

It would HAVE to be a filter feeder, yes?

 

[davelin315]

A little update on it. It died after it fell off (probably got eaten is more likely). The shell is slipper shaped and has a pocket that extends about halfway through the shell.

Question, though, how does it eat algae if it was attached to my turbo snail since I got it 6 or 7 months ago? It never left the safety of that snail until I tugged on it (and probably killed it) and never moved around? Not sure if it could access any algae from where it lived. Thanks, though, for the info.

 

[davelin315]

up to join the other thread

 

[davelin315]

I would think so, but mine got eaten right away, and I looked at his shell. There are no holes in the top of it for a filter to come out, and I never saw any filter appendages on it. I would think that it is a parasite of some sort, and was feeding off of the snail or in your case, mussel. Someone above said they thought it was an algae grazer, but since they don't move, it can't be. Who knows, maybe someone will enlighten both of us.