1st hitchhiker, please help ID.

[LeftFootedJedi]

He/she/it came inside some shells for my hermit crabs. Has 5-6 arms but not sure what it is. Looks like a pest.

 

[MERKEY]

Looks like aptasia. Most remove them

 

[Auquanut]

Looks like aptasia. Bad guy. Get it out.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Done!!

 

[MTBake]

Looks like an aiptasia anemone.

 

[Fishy212]

If you have not already. Just remove the rock. Inspect all the other additions carefully. NO VERMID SNAILS !!!!

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

I tossed it. It was buried way down inside the shell, never saw it until recently.

Out of curiosity what problems do they cause?

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

They sting corals and reproduce like hell

 

[IKD]

They spread quickly and have a strong sting that will damage nearby corals

 

[Auquanut]

They can spread like a disease. Even to the point of taking over a tank (Google aptasia invasion). They also irritate corals.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Evil Aiptasia!!! Take the rock out of the water and super glue the hole closed. You can do this in the water, but there is a chance it will release spores and you would prefer that not happen in the tank.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

I’ll take the .25 cent hit in my wallet, toss it & buy more shells.

 

[MERKEY]

I got some cheato the other day for our manderin tank and it had the biggest aptasia I have ever seen.

A little bit of me worried it would eat our manderins hahah

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Wow.. I thought it looked kind of cool, but definitely not fully matured.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

I’ll take the .25 cent hit in my wallet, toss it & buy more shells.

Buy shells on amazon! They come dry in a bag so free of pests

 

[Pablopufferfish]

Take out the rock and cure it with acid, bleach, or freshwater. That’s what I do.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Found another hitchhiker today, this time on a living trochus snail.

I tried grabbing it with tweezers but it retreated back into the shell. Feather Duster?? If so, leave it be? I read they are harmless.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

Found another hitchhiker today, this time on a living trochus snail.

I tried grabbing it with tweezers but it retreated back into the shell. Feather Duster?? If so, leave it be? I read they are harmless.

It’s hard to tell but it could be a feather duster yeah

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Anyone else have an idea on this one? Is it harmful to the snail?

 

[SHNICI]

It look to me like a ball anemone on the snail shell, can't see do it have small tentacles with ball like tips at the end ? (if the tips are very sticky, that will confirm ball anemone)