Small round hitchhikers on clam

[Wasabiroot]

Hey,
Got in an aquacultered Derasa from Liveaquaria. The exterior of the shell had a few of these tiny oval guys on it. They were maybe 3mm wide give or take a mm. I inspected for pest snails but only saw these. They did not appear to be causing damage to the clam and were only on the shell itself. Comparing photos, they do look similar to Acropora eating flatworms, but these did a weird "hopping" motion in my acclimating bucket. I don't have any acro but wanted to know if I should be concerned or vigilant.

 

[Chrisv.]

I'd hit the whole thing with a toothbrush in a bucket of tank water. Not sure what it is, so do what you can to knock it back. Do you have a wrasse in your tank? Now may be the time.

 

[Chrisv.]

It's extremely unlikely that it's an obligate coral predator (like aefw) because they are normally present in large numbers on their food coral.

 

[Wasabiroot]

That's what I read - most die off within 2 days (at least flatworms) if there is no prey in the tank. They almost looked segmented like a crustacean or annelid but it was hard to tell for sure due to their small size. I do have a mandarin. I did brush off as many as I saw but I noticed this guy was still there.

 

[Chrisv.]

That's what I read - most die off within 2 days (at least flatworms) if there is no prey in the tank. They almost looked segmented like a crustacean or annelid but it was hard to tell for sure due to their small size. I do have a mandarin

My policy on potential pests is to go full scorched earth. Get rid of it if you can.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Sounds like a plan. I will check the clam exterior one more time just in case, and remove any additional specimens if I come across them.

 

[WheatToast]

Chiton? I believe they are harmless algae eaters.