ID On a Sea Slug

[mkreef]

Hey guys,

I just saw this little bugger crawling around in my tank this morning. He is freaken quick, relative to mexican turbo snails. I have no clue where he came from. Is he reef safe?

 

[calaxa]

It's a stomatella snail. Looks like a slug but actually has a flat hard shell (touch it and you'll see). They are safe.

 

[Hawkeye]

cool photo and agree. They hitch in a lot and supposedly captive breed relatively easily in tanks. You could buy more from a place like ipsf.com if you wanted to.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

i once saw one of mine releasing a milky looking substance into the water in spurts, i imagine it was eggs, and every now and them my cleaner shrimp plucks one off the glass to snack on

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

and where did you get that cool meshy looking impropmtu frag rack from?

 

[calaxa]

Yeah that milky stuff is eggs/sperm. They do breed in the aquarium just like ceriths. I don't like the way they look but they are fantastic grazers and well, they were free. =) They always freak me out when I am plucking them out of the sump (that's how I knew they were snails.....that shell is pretty hard)

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

the only time i see them is in the morning before the lights go on...

 

[mkreef]

and where did you get that cool meshy looking impropmtu frag rack from?

Oh you don't know? Go to your local Dollar Tree and pick up dish soap/sponge racks & baskets for a dollar. There are the corner racks and some are baskets. I picked up a bunch.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

very cool.... thanks, very useful

 

[thylacine]

I asked same question last night. Maybe I was in the wrong area. anyway from what I explained to my lfs I was told they are cowries. I have many of them and everyone has a different color or pattern.I like them . does anyone have more info. how many are a problem? When do I need to cull? What do I do with them?

 

[mkreef]

It's a stomatella snail. Looks like a slug but actually has a flat hard shell (touch it and you'll see). They are safe.

The orginal picture that I showed, calaxa was correct. It it is a stomatella snail, not a Cowrie. Stomatella have a small half shell on their back. The shell is like a fake finger nail, same shape and thin. Some in my tank are pitch black, others are light or dark tan with a shell that seems to have a mother of pearl shine on their shells. They detach some of their foot as a defensive mechanism, just like some lizards do with their tails. Detritus feeders. The reproduce very easily, but are not harmful to the tank. Their population will equalize with the amount of food that is present. I just leave them alone. They only bug me when I want to attach a frag and have to make sure that I dont attach it on top of a camoflaged snail.

Stomatella snail

Cowrie shell