Purple People Eater ?

[littleme1969]

Ok was doing a little moving around in my tank and I saw this guy.. hes about 1.5cms long dark puple in colour and a bit sprickly Thought it was dead atfirst but on closer inspection hes very much alive and moving round in his hole.
Some kind of sea slug/sea cucmber maybe ? ID would be great guys. Is he suitable for a nano reef and is he friendly.

Also I have alot of hairy fuzz on certains bits of my rock, again is this ok? and not any type of the glass anenome I have heard about..

Last but not least I think this guy is some kind of clam, there seem to be a few of them on one small piece of rock. Again is he ok for a nano. Also this tank has just been up for 2 days non with cured live rock & live sand, just starting to cycle so will these guys be ok while its going through it cycle stage ?

 

[FLcracker94]

hmmmm....I'm not sure what those are...I'll research it.

 

[kkyyllee]

hairy stuff is sponges, clams probly a filter feeder and will die, or die durring the cycle

 

[littleme1969]

Did wonder if the cycle would kill them.
I read somewhere to do water changes during the cycle. This will lengthen the time it takes but many more critters will survive .
Also saw this guy this aft out for an afternoon stroll..

About 5 mm long took about 5 mins to cross a small bit of rock then dissapeared
Also just seen my first bristle worm, and hes about 3cms long

 

[kkyyllee]

bristle worms are good, nno idea what that thing is tho, your right about the water changes

 

[Danno]

I saw a bristle worm in my tank once. I took a turkey baster and flushed it. No point in getting stung in your own tank! Turkey basters work great for taking unwanted stuff out of your tank.

 

[FLcracker94]

That looks like a Bivalve.

 

[steelhealr]

The first looks like a tunicate of some sort....cuke? Looks like you got some interesting hitchhikers. SH

 

[ox5477]

I saw a bristle worm in my tank once. I took a turkey baster and flushed it. No point in getting stung in your own tank! Turkey basters work great for taking unwanted stuff out of your tank.

Why would you suck out the bristle worm? It doesnt cause any harm and is considered good on most all accounts but I guess your point of not wanting to get stung makes sense, though, how often do you have you hand in your tank

 

[smithrc]

now those are some interesting hitch hikers

 

[littleme1969]

Well after some research Ive decided this guy is a cucumber of some sort. I coaxed him out of his hole to get a good look at him. Hes just under 2cms long Dark purple in colour with a spiky back and riged underneath. He didnt appreciate my attention and as soon as my back was turned went back into his hole Needless to say his hole was empty this morning and hes gone off to find a more private home
The other guy has been IDed by quite a few people as a bivalve. Not seen him today but I was able to get a scary pic of my resident bristle worm

Hes one ugly bug this one! lol
Ive decided to go the slow route to cycle and do small regular water changes to help keep my new additions alive. I'm in no rush to add clean up crew fish etc and it will give me plenty of chance to get the whole tank well and truly settled before adding anything that costs me

now those are some interesting hitch hikers

LOL yeh trust me to get all the freaky things in my rock! Hows you tank doing Russ? added any fish yet ?

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd actually say that looks more like a Nudibranch instead of a sea cucumber. Cukes are usually blander and bigger than that. They also rarely have as many fancy appendages.

 

[littleme1969]

I'd actually say that looks more like a Nudibranch instead of a sea cucumber. Cukes are usually blander and bigger than that. They also rarely have as many fancy appendages.

Did a google search on that and still not sure. All the pics come back with a distinctive head and bum end. This guy seemed to have no distinction, only knew it was his head by the way he moved I thinks its just a mystery.. hope he does not get too big that he becomes an issue.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, nudibranchs or sea slugs can very often be obligate predators, meaning they hunt/eat only one thing, and if you don't have that in your tank, or they over-predate the food source, they often die... Nudis and cukes can pose nutrient or toxin problems upon death depending on the species. I'd really try and get some better pics or a better ID on the little guy before moving forward

 

[littleme1969]

I have to agree its a bit of a worry Ive tried posting on reef only forums and they seem to have no idea either. As for getting a better pic...that would be nice but hes no where to be seen. My rock is full of perfect sized holes that lead deep into the rock for him to hide so not much chance of finding him. Plus with the tank settled and going through its cycle Id rather not poke around too much with it either, Newbie to this and that
I guess I'll just have to suck it and see!..lol I always kep 15litres of water mixed and ready to go in case of emergency, and it only takes about 2 hours to make that amount so I am ready if there are any issues for 1/3 water changes. I think its amaving hhe servived both the import process as well as 1 month in their tanks, but judjing by how he moved and how plump he was , he looked in good heath.
I'll just keep my eye out for him and if I see him (even at night) I'll get better pics and maybe quarantine him off with a bit of rock in a breeder net till I find out what he is and what to do with him.
Thanks for the info guys, its much appreciated