What is this stow away?

jyg · 04/28/2011, 01:23 AM

This came into my tank by stowing away on a cluster of zoas. I saw it attached in the cluster. Its about 25mm x 10mm. I had tried to gently pull it off, but that didn't work, and the outer material/skin/shell was pretty hard so I just left it alone. This was weeks ago. Yesterday I see it has migrated and its outer layer is starting to grow some of my newly budding coralline algae. The odd thing about the migration is that it went from the highest peak to the 2nd highest peak of my live rock. So this thing climbed or swam... It looks clam- or muscle-like to me. Can they climb or swim? I really have no idea. Do you have any idea what it is?

jyg · 04/29/2011, 10:42 AM

I've been been googling all sorts of taxonomy on bivavles, hoping to find a matching photo. Nothing, grrr. Any ideas?

mscarpena · 04/29/2011, 04:34 PM

Hard to tell. There are so many. Wont harm anything if thats what your worried about.

jyg · 04/29/2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mscarpena

Hard to tell. There are so many. Wont harm anything if thats what your worried about.

Nah not worried. Its been in there weeks and it did come in on the zoas, so it would seem safe enough to me. I'm just dying to classify it. Perhaps its a personal issue

bobbychullo · 04/29/2011, 10:10 PM

i had a similar hitchhiker, actually a couple. i had 2 Ark Clam's (i think called Spreading Ark's-Barbatia divaricata) which had a foot and could crawl but stayed anchored in one spot mostly.

this guy crawled around a bit, i think he may have died since i dont see him anymore (probably from my cycle, i used shrimp to raise ammonia/nitrates). the other one never moved and still filter feeds with a tube that he dangles from his shell, the opposite of where the foot comes out. i cant get a pic of him, he is deep in a cave and very hard to even see much less get a pic.

I also have some sort of permanently anchored bivalve that i could never ID. i think it may be a Cliff Oyster. i am trying to get my friends underwater camera to get a pic of it because it is too small and far from the glass to get a pic from outside the tank. came in on my live rock and survived my cycle. it was crazy, one day i was watching the tank and it moved its shell and i was like, "huh?!"

EDIT: you got me looking again and i think it may actually be a coin oyster or jewel oyster, i am going to keep looking (^.^)d

jyg · 04/30/2011, 11:01 AM

bobbychullo, thanks for helping.

Funny you should mention the other tube. When I first got this cluster of zoas, I don't recall seeing this animal... but there was a white, almost sponge-like tube sticking out from the bottom of the cluster. It didn't response to any touching and it wasn't coming out easy, either. Now that this clam-ish thing is gone form the cluster, so is that tube.

So the tube, again, was white, slightly translucent, and spongy but not delicate. It was maybe 2mm thick at the tip, and got as thick as 3 or 4mm, 20mm down the line as it disappeared into the cluster. Sound familiar?

Also, from the tiny opening of the shell, the animal itself seems to be somewhere between gray and red/maroon. That might just be the surrounding light coming off the hammer coral its attached too. Is there anything that gets these creatures to open more?

bobbychullo · 04/30/2011, 05:51 PM

the feeding tube on my ark clam was dark grayish to black. it was a couple mm wide in diameter and maybe a cm or so long, the clams themselves were only a couple cm in length. they are also very quick to close, any light or a surge of water in their direction and they close up very fast.

as for getting them to open up, i would figure good and stable water params and clean water would help. much like any invert, they are probably sensitive to phos and nitrates. i use mine as a barometer of my water quality, along with my other fish and corals. i know as long as they are open my water is good.

pagojoe · 05/01/2011, 10:00 PM

I think you were on the right track to start with, Bobby. I don't think it's the same species you had, but it's probably either in the same or a related family. It may be a Cardita species.

Cheerrs,

Don

04/29/2011, 10:10 PM	#5
bobbychullo Super Abound Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,104	i had a similar hitchhiker, actually a couple. i had 2 Ark Clam's (i think called Spreading Ark's-Barbatia divaricata) which had a foot and could crawl but stayed anchored in one spot mostly. this guy crawled around a bit, i think he may have died since i dont see him anymore (probably from my cycle, i used shrimp to raise ammonia/nitrates). the other one never moved and still filter feeds with a tube that he dangles from his shell, the opposite of where the foot comes out. i cant get a pic of him, he is deep in a cave and very hard to even see much less get a pic. I also have some sort of permanently anchored bivalve that i could never ID. i think it may be a Cliff Oyster. i am trying to get my friends underwater camera to get a pic of it because it is too small and far from the glass to get a pic from outside the tank. came in on my live rock and survived my cycle. it was crazy, one day i was watching the tank and it moved its shell and i was like, "huh?!" EDIT: you got me looking again and i think it may actually be a coin oyster or jewel oyster, i am going to keep looking (^.^)d Last edited by bobbychullo; 04/29/2011 at 10:38 PM.

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04/29/2011, 10:42 AM	#2
jyg Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 20	I've been been googling all sorts of taxonomy on bivavles, hoping to find a matching photo. Nothing, grrr. Any ideas?

04/29/2011, 04:34 PM	#3
mscarpena Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York Posts: 1,924	Hard to tell. There are so many. Wont harm anything if thats what your worried about.

04/30/2011, 11:01 AM	#6
jyg Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 20	bobbychullo, thanks for helping. Funny you should mention the other tube. When I first got this cluster of zoas, I don't recall seeing this animal... but there was a white, almost sponge-like tube sticking out from the bottom of the cluster. It didn't response to any touching and it wasn't coming out easy, either. Now that this clam-ish thing is gone form the cluster, so is that tube. So the tube, again, was white, slightly translucent, and spongy but not delicate. It was maybe 2mm thick at the tip, and got as thick as 3 or 4mm, 20mm down the line as it disappeared into the cluster. Sound familiar? Also, from the tiny opening of the shell, the animal itself seems to be somewhere between gray and red/maroon. That might just be the surrounding light coming off the hammer coral its attached too. Is there anything that gets these creatures to open more?

04/30/2011, 05:51 PM	#7
bobbychullo Super Abound Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,104	the feeding tube on my ark clam was dark grayish to black. it was a couple mm wide in diameter and maybe a cm or so long, the clams themselves were only a couple cm in length. they are also very quick to close, any light or a surge of water in their direction and they close up very fast. as for getting them to open up, i would figure good and stable water params and clean water would help. much like any invert, they are probably sensitive to phos and nitrates. i use mine as a barometer of my water quality, along with my other fish and corals. i know as long as they are open my water is good.

05/01/2011, 10:00 PM	#8
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	I think you were on the right track to start with, Bobby. I don't think it's the same species you had, but it's probably either in the same or a related family. It may be a Cardita species. Cheerrs, Don