unknown critters

Would some kind soul take a look at the photos I have on this page
http://goatdairying.com/fish/marine/marineunknown.html
and tell me what they are. I've searched everywhere and can't find them.

This is a very new setup. The guy at the shop I bought the live rock
thinks the white one might be a mantis shrimp.

Big thanks
miskairal

The first is some kind of nudibranch.

The second could very well be the mantle of a clam that is deep within
the rockwork.

Marc


miskairal wrote:
Would some kind soul take a look at the photos I have on this page
http://goatdairying.com/fish/marine/marineunknown.html
and tell me what they are. I've searched everywhere and can't find them.

This is a very new setup. The guy at the shop I bought the live rock
thinks the white one might be a mantis shrimp.

Big thanks
miskairal

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

Yep that's what they are.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



Marc Levenson wrote on 11/11/2005 6:31 AM:
The first is some kind of nudibranch.

The second could very well be the mantle of a clam that is deep within
the rockwork.

Marc


miskairal wrote:

Would some kind soul take a look at the photos I have on this page
http://goatdairying.com/fish/marine/marineunknown.html
and tell me what they are. I've searched everywhere and can't find them.

This is a very new setup. The guy at the shop I bought the live rock
thinks the white one might be a mantis shrimp.

Big thanks
miskairal

Hi Miskairal,

As Marc and Wayne said, the white one is a nudibranch. It's probably of
the Aeolid type although it could be a Dendronotid or even an
Arminacid. Here are a couple of sites that may help with a more exact
I.D.:

http://slugsite.tierranet.com/ - This is run by a guy in California, I
believe, but it has numerous links to sites for Australian and
Australasian nudis.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/welcome.cfm - This site is run by Bill
Rudman of the Australian Museum and is searchable. If you can't find
your nudi then you can send the picture to them and Bill will probably
be able to I.D. it for you.

FWIW: If I guessed right about the group your nudi probably feeds on
cnidarians but may be a total specialist on a particular species. In
any case, keep an eye on your corals, anemones, and hydroids to make
sure they aren't being damaged too much. In the wild, these things
almost never kill their prey - they usually just bite off a tentacle or
two and move on. Things could be quite different in an aquarium though.
OTOH: Nudibranchs are generally considered to be hard to keep since
their diets are usually very specialized which leads to them starving
more often than not.

Sluggishly yours,

Alex

Tidepool Geek wrote:
Hi Miskairal,

As Marc and Wayne said, the white one is a nudibranch. It's probably of
the Aeolid type although it could be a Dendronotid or even an
Arminacid. Here are a couple of sites that may help with a more exact
I.D.:

http://slugsite.tierranet.com/ - This is run by a guy in California, I
believe, but it has numerous links to sites for Australian and
Australasian nudis.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/welcome.cfm - This site is run by Bill
Rudman of the Australian Museum and is searchable. If you can't find
your nudi then you can send the picture to them and Bill will probably
be able to I.D. it for you.

FWIW: If I guessed right about the group your nudi probably feeds on
cnidarians but may be a total specialist on a particular species. In
any case, keep an eye on your corals, anemones, and hydroids to make
sure they aren't being damaged too much. In the wild, these things
almost never kill their prey - they usually just bite off a tentacle or
two and move on. Things could be quite different in an aquarium though.
OTOH: Nudibranchs are generally considered to be hard to keep since
their diets are usually very specialized which leads to them starving
more often than not.

Sluggishly yours,

Alex

Thanks Alex,

I've been to both sites and I couldn't find my exact "nudibranch" so
asked but that was 6 days ago and I've not found a reply in the forum
Mine does look like it's from the Aeolid type.

Yesterday I discovered a new, smaller one of these things. Only about
1/2 cm long.