Alien creature?

M

mmartin8601

Newbies here and we have a purple rock in our tank that looks like it has a green "alien" on it. If you know what this is please tell me. It looks like the rock has a mouth! [attachment=0]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1346962886.216896.jpg[/attachment]


Mike & Angela Martin
 
I can't tell from the pic either. Is it stationary? Does it change size? Does it just have the one hole in it? What size is it?
 
It is maybe 1/2 an inch. It is stationary, but is alive. Here is a pic I drew of it, maybe it'll help. [attachment=0]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1346988104.890949.jpg[/attachment]


Mike & Angela Martin
 
Any way you could get a better pic? Maybe pull rock up to top of water and take a pic?


Sent from behind you!
 
Vermetid snail, probably. Nothing to be concerned about, but can become a pest if it grows too large.
 
I can't move the rock because it's a base rock and an emerald crab lives under it. Here is a couple closer pics though. [attachment=1]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1347031940.209752.jpg[/attachment][attachment=0]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1347031953.506692.jpg[/attachment]


Mike & Angela Martin
 
Maybe sponge or tunicate. If you get more light on the pic you should be able to lose the blur & get better detail.
 
Is it something living on top of the rock, or, is it something inside a hole in the rock? If inside, it might be rock boring clam. I had some that were quite large inside the rock, maybe as much as 2.5" long, but, had just the siphon poking out a much smaller hole in the rock, so all that could be seen was about 1/2" siphon
 
I haven't been able to find a pic of what those look like but you may be right. It is flush but there is definitely a hole behind its mouth going into the rock.


Mike & Angela Martin
 
@Kerry's Reef wrote:
Is it something living on top of the rock said:
here is a couple pics of what I think kerry is talking about.

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/23853499.jpg

http://seanet.stanford.edu/OtherMolluscs/paraphol_cal580.jpg
Here is info from above pic:

Parapholas californica (Conrad, 1837)
Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia, Subclass Heterodonta, Order Myoida, Family Pholadidae
Shale-boring clam; siphon tips a circular disc 2-3 cm diameter usually flush with substrate, pale mottled tan; inhalant siphon larger with frill of tentacles around margin. Shell to 15 cm long, drills burrow to 30 cm deep.
Geogr. Range: Bodega Bay to Baja


here is another forum that talks about them
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f224/id-please-64649/
Click to expand...
 
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