hitchiker bivalve?

[Surskit]

hello! i got a large zoa colony on a rock from the store i work at about a month and a half ago. about a week ago i saw this popping out. it doesn't seem to move at all, but i do believe it's new and not a part of a rock that got uncovered since the colony has only been growing. i think it looks like a clam or some other type of bivalve, any ideas as far as species? it's hard to take photos with the blue light that capture the color, but it seems to be a dull red color, and it seems to be around 2-3 inches.

 

[JGT]

If it’s alive you should see it open and close periodically.

 

[Surskit]

If it’s alive you should see it open and close periodically.

okay! i'll keep a closer watch and update this post if i see any movement

 

[JGT]

I

okay! i'll keep a closer watch and update this post if i see any movement

Mine are susceptible to light changes and movement. If you wave something over or near it to create a shadow it should close up.

 

[Surskit]

I

Mine are susceptible to light changes and movement. If you wave something over or near it to create a shadow it should close up.

alright! i made this post just before heading out for a doctors appointmeny, but i'll try that right when i'm back home.

 

[Surskit]

i'm home now and i checked again, and it had closed up, so i'm assuming it's alive!

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

They are pretty cool. The ones in my tank have reproduced and they are also capable of moving to different spots. They are also insanely resilient as I've had some survive upgrades from 40g to 75g and now 125g... not to mention a myriad of noob atrocities.

 

[Surskit]

They are pretty cool. The ones in my tank have reproduced and they are also capable of moving to different spots. They are also insanely resilient as I've had some survive upgrades from 40g to 75g and now 125g... not to mention a myriad of noob atrocities.

that's really cool! have they done any harm to any of your corals? if not i'd love to keep this guy around! in general i like any and all biodiversity i can get in my tank so long as they aren't causing problems.

 

[Soren]

i'm home now and i checked again, and it had closed up, so i'm assuming it's alive!

If you see it open and can see fleshy skirt around the edges, it is most certainly alive. If it dies, the flesh will rot away quickly. There were a number of bivalves of a few different types that came in on my ocean live rock, and it is pretty easy to determine which ones are alive and which ones are dead.

 

[Surskit]

If you see it open and can see fleshy skirt around the edges, it is most certainly alive. If it dies, the flesh will rot away quickly. There were a number of bivalves of a few different types that came in on my ocean live rock, and it is pretty easy to determine which ones are alive and which ones are dead.

alright, cool! i did see that when i saw it open a bit ago.

 

[Soren]

alright, cool! i did see that when i saw it open a bit ago.

Also, from what I have seen, bivalves are typically at least partially if not fully open after death, so a closed bivalve from an external perspective on reef rocks is often a living bivalve.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

that's really cool! have they done any harm to any of your corals? if not i'd love to keep this guy around! in general i like any and all biodiversity i can get in my tank so long as they aren't causing problems.

No problems at all, GSP will grow right over them if left unchecked.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Here’s some of mine. I had a few more pop up in my tank since I took these but I’m pretty sure I started with one. They don’t reproduce rapidly though so that’s good. I love them for that biodiversity aspect.