Hitch hiker ID please

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

Anyone recognize this guy?

Tahoe61 · Apr 5, 2020

Elysia, he eats chaeto I believe, harmless.

KJ · Apr 5, 2020

Elysia sp. eats caulerpa.

Mikedawg · Apr 5, 2020

Yep, a sea slug

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

Tahoe61 said:
Elysia, he eats chaeto I believe, harmless.

Thank you

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

KJ said:
Elysia sp. eats caulerpa.

Thanks

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

Mikedawg said:
Yep, a sea slug

Thanks Mike

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

Then he shall live

vetteguy53081 · Apr 5, 2020

Its not a slug and does not eat caulerpa. Its a Planaria flatworm, and although deemed harmless can be a nuisance if toy grow in numbers. Best way to get rid of them is to cease their food source which is merely detrious and uneaten food from sandbed. The more you siphon is the less food source and ability to breed that they will have.

it's likely that your nitrates are too high. That is potentially very bad for your fish and you need to address the root problem at once. Watch your water parameters while siphoning. If you do this, and maintain a regular regimen of tank maintenance, they will eventually disappear.

reef lover · Apr 5, 2020

Not a flatworm. The antenna are a dead giveaway.

Mr_Knightley · Apr 5, 2020

I have very similar slugs in my tank, they were given to me by one of my LFS workers. He said they were great algae eaters, and so I took home about 20 of them. then after my aquarium cracked, I think I still have at least 2 in the tank, neither of them bigger than a pencil eraser. I'm not sure if they have done much, just because they are so small, but they also haven't hurt anything, so they'll be staying.
Definitely not a flatworm, I have planarians as well and they are completely different.

Good luck and God bless you!

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

Mr_Knightley said:
I have very similar slugs in my tank, they were given to me by one of my LFS workers. He said they were great algae eaters, and so I took home about 20 of them. then after my aquarium cracked, I think I still have at least 2 in the tank, neither of them bigger than a pencil eraser. I'm not sure if they have done much, just because they are so small, but they also haven't hurt anything, so they'll be staying.
Definitely not a flatworm, I have planarians as well and they are completely different.

Good luck and God bless you!

I have had planerias too and these do look different. Than you for your advise. And god bless you too.

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

reef lover said:
Not a flatworm. The antenna are a dead giveaway.

Their antennae look like Shreck’s antennae

jt17 · Apr 5, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
Its not a slug and does not eat caulerpa. Its a Planaria flatworm, and although deemed harmless can be a nuisance if toy grow in numbers. Best way to get rid of them is to cease their food source which is merely detrious and uneaten food from sandbed. The more you siphon is the less food source and ability to breed that they will have.

it's likely that your nitrates are too high. That is potentially very bad for your fish and you need to address the root problem at once. Watch your water parameters while siphoning. If you do this, and maintain a regular regimen of tank maintenance, they will eventually disappear.

Thanks