"thing" ID help needed

[skyedolphan]

OK I dont normally freak easily when it comes to my tank.
I was cleaning the frag/fuge/throw tank this morning and got this completely yucky feeling on my hand when I went to take one of the rocks up..
I dropped the rock and looked at my hand and this is what was on it. At first I thought maybe a nudi but this bugga moves VERY fast and does not have any antenna it is app 3 inches long and 2 inches wide nice colors but scary just the same. I have never added anything like it so I am assuming he is a hitchhiker form something. which means he has made it through 3 severe interceptor treatments.
I am thinking some kind of sea slug but my books are not helping me.

 

[naturebatslast]

Looks like a large, non Planarian, Flatworm. It's big.

 

[Aquadiva]

Yuck factor... HIGH...

I agree.. looks like a flatworm. No idea if it's good or bad...

If it were me... it'd be a goner...

 

[skyedolphan]

LOL cant be a goner as I do not like to kill things so he will reside in the fuge/frag/throw tank .
I do believe it is a flatworm hmm didnt even enter my mind on it being a flatworm i guess I never though of them this large

now on to trying to ID it

 

[naturebatslast]

Here's a flatworm ID site...
http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20q?guide=Rhabditophora&flags=not_no:

 

[JohnK]

The thing that really creeps me out is that I found one just like that in my tank Once during a night time flashlight inspection - then it crawled away and I haven't seen it since. That was easily a year ago

 

[ReeferMedic]

Sorry Dawn, but that's a predatory FW iirc. I believe they feed on clams. Here's a link to a pic from Melev's Reef. I would take any gold teardrop like clams and give them a quick iodine or fw dip. If you have more on the clams, they'll come off very quickly.


http://melevsreef.com/id/lg_flatworm.html

 

[marine mike]

Watch that gold teardrop of yours Dawn! Did Joel pick it up from you yet? He said he was going to take it off your hands. that is one gross looking worm and obviously not a good citizen. if it was me, see you later Mr. Flatworm! anything that will take out my clams is no friend of mine..........

 

[Jennifer]

Geez - that is a creepy flatworm.

 

[jovreef]

Ditto reefermedic, I was trying to find the site I saw that on before but he beat me to it

 

[stingythingy45]

You could keep it in a species only tank and feed it clams.

 

[Mike A]

Dawn,

Get it out of there.

I had one and it decimated my snail population. Once it's gone, and hopefully there is only one in your tank, you'll notice a decline in snail deaths.

 

[skyedolphan]

thanks Don
that is def him.
HMM so whats he been eating because my clam is upstairs and there is NO WAY for him to get up there? How the Heck has he been surviving for how ever long downstairs?
I only have 5 snails down there and they are all accounted for ?

 

[alpha0r]

Unfortunately, where there is one there is probably many. Do check out you clam for juveniles. I'm also wondering how it survived 3 interceptor treatments.

 

[Ray]

interceptor doesnt treat flatworms just redbugs

I had one in a tank before, I was doing a night inspection with a flashlight and it was on the front glass, this thing was easily the size of a large melon. I research it a bit and found some of them can even eat fish if I recall correctly (but I am not positive on that) I remember the second I shinned the light on it, it released from the glass and went into the rocks, I pulled the rock it was on and soaked it in a bucket of ro/do water for a week, dried it in the sun and recurred it.

 

[Snidgetless]

Cool, any chance you took pics of the large melon sized worm Ray???

 

[Miller]

Scary looking bugger, I wouldn't feel at all bad about killing that beast. It could have been in your display tank for the majority of its life and gone down your overflow for you to find it in the frag/fuge.

 

[Joel A]

wow.. thats a big little sucker.

Hopefully you only have one =).

 

[~Flighty~]

I've wached a large one take a snail and it is wicked impressive. See if someone wants him for a preditory species tank.