Hitchhiker ID Please! Stomatella?

[907_Reefer]

Hey all, our new 55 gallon with 90 lbs live rock has been running for 2.5 months now and we're still finding new stuff :)

This guy popped out yesterday, first time I've seen him. Stomatella snail?

 

[Boosterman]

Yes Stomatella

 

[907_Reefer]

Thanks!!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Not sure. Was it out when the lights were still on? Stomatellas usually hide until after lights out.
The shell doesn't look quite right to me either...
I'm thinking abalone.

 

[ChiCity]

Not sure. Was it out when the lights were still on? Stomatellas usually hide until after lights out.
The shell doesn't look quite right to me either... ?

… it’s a stomatella.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

… it’s a stomatella.

Or a small abalone

 

[ChiCity]

Or a small abalone

good eye,
you might be on to something here….

that shell certainly looks like an abalone’s shell

 

[907_Reefer]

So I'm assuming he is mostly out at night, due to that size and I've only caught him the one time under daylight.

I did see him last night under moonlight however..

Ok so potential abalone!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So I'm assuming he is mostly out at night, due to that size and I've only caught him the one time under daylight.

I did see him last night under moonlight however..

Ok so potential abalone!

About how big is it?

 

[907_Reefer]

Right about 1" long..

 

[WheatToast]

Looks like a Stomatella snail. Abalones do not feature such an elongated foot, and I have had Stomatella snails wandering about during the day on occasion.

Abalone:

Stomatella:

The shell doesn't look quite right to me either...

What's wrong with the shell? Personally, it looks like an ordinary Stomatella shell.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looks like a Stomatella snail. Abalones do not feature such an elongated foot, and I have had Stomatella snails wandering about during the day on occasion.

Abalone:

Stomatella:

What's wrong with the shell? Personally, it looks like an ordinary Stomatella shell.

I can post lots of pictures from Google as well, but I won't because, well, that's kind of lame...
I don't know if it's an abalone or a stomatella; to my eye, it looks more like a small abalone. The shells of both are similar looking, but from the pictures posted by the OP, and the fact that this is real live rock, my guess is abalone.
And I've never seen spirobids growing on a stomatella shell.

 

[Goaway]

I can post lots of pictures from Google as well, but I won't because, well, that's kind of lame...
I don't know if it's an abalone or a stomatella; to my eye, it looks more like a small abalone. The shells of both are similar looking, but from the pictures posted by the OP, and the fact that this is real live rock, my guess is abalone.
And I've never seen spirobids growing on a stomatella shell.

I've owned both stoma and abalone. There are vent holes on abalone shell. They also dont have the long slug foot. The pics given by the op, are colorful stomas.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looks like a Stomatella snail. Abalones do not feature such an elongated foot, and I have had Stomatella snails wandering about during the day on occasion.

Abalone:

Stomatella:

What's wrong with the shell? Personally, it looks like an ordinary Stomatella shell.

By the way, your first pic of a "stomatella", is actually an abalone... :thinking-face:

 

[WheatToast]

By the way, your first pic of a "stomatella", is actually an abalone... :thinking-face:

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

OP, did your live rock come from Australia?

 

[WheatToast]

I can post lots of pictures from Google as well, but I won't because, well, that's kind of lame...
I don't know if it's an abalone or a stomatella; to my eye, it looks more like a small abalone. The shells of both are similar looking, but from the pictures posted by the OP, and the fact that this is real live rock, my guess is abalone.

I've owned both stoma and abalone. There are vent holes on abalone shell. They also dont have the long slug foot. The pics given by the op, are colorful stomas.

+1 the holes are another feature of abalones but not Stomatella (at least from what I have seen).
My Stomatella snails likely originated from "real live rock." These were well-defined coral skeletons rather than the "lumpy" mined rock that is currently in the market with all sorts of odd hitchhikers... like fireworms :confused:. Of course, the snails might have originated from some other source at the LFS (maybe frags in the rock tanks), but ultimately, they must have come from the wild at some point. Are abalones more common than Stomatella on wild rock?

OP, did your live rock come from Australia?

Stomatella impertusa seems to be cosmopolitan across a large area of the Indo-Pacific region and even into the Mediterranean. OP's snail does not necessarily have to be this species though.
I'm not sure if OP's rock is "real live rock" as it does not seem very thoroughly imbued with algae, though OP has not explicitly stated the rock's origins so who knows.

And I've never seen spirobids growing on a stomatella shell.

Freeloaders :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[907_Reefer]

Love the discussion here - all I can add, is the rock is definitely live rock from our LFS who I trust.

We're up in Alaska, I don't know the origination of the rock (Australia, etc), but typically here the suppliers would be the big companies that ship this stuff nationwide.

We've had a number of other hitchhikers from the rock also, bristle worms, micro brittle star, feather dusters, snails etc..

I will keep the pictures coming though as we catch this guy cruising about ;)

 

[Goaway]

re abalones more common than Stomatella on wild rock

From what I understand about abalone, there are very few warm water species. Majority are colder water.

 

[907_Reefer]

Alright so I caught this guy again in the evening light cycle, he stands straight up and blows freaking bubbles in the air! Could get bubbles in the photos, but: