Hitchiker/Pest/Critter/ what the heck IS THIS, Please Help!

[reefsaver]

Umm that’s a bug part that fell in your tank..

It's not from outside the tank. I've been finding pieces of it since I added a torch coral, a plate coral and 2 Trochus snails 4 months ago on an occasional basis , I have a feeling it hitched a ride inside a Trochus snails shell is my best guess. I totally forgot to bring it with me to my LFS but I got a starfish and 2 nassarius snails hehe.
I am keeping it in a jar so I can show my LFS guy but he imports some stuff that is taken directly from the ocean so who knows.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I was about to say some kind of Abalone, till I saw the video with soothing music and pincer looking things close up. Congrats, you got yourself a good little mystery right here!

 

[TCoach]

@reefsaver - Thinking that's the bug Kahn used on Star Trek II!!! :rofl:

 

[reefsaver]

I replied in your other post did you ever try to compare it to a black Stomtella?

Yes but I couldn't find any Stomatella Snails with those two antennae looking things on the rear

 

[Powahfull]

The picture I posted has the 2 antenna you can see in the picture.

 

[reefsaver]

I noticed another cocoon at the bottom of my tank today and it's the same thing, identical but it looks older and is kind of broken down, It's comparatively smaller too! I'm drying it out on some tissue paper I feel like this is definite proof it's not a Stomatella Snail. I believe Both Cocoons belong to the same animal and it's grown from the Left to the Right shell. This is so awesome haha. What is it!

 

[reefsaver]

I found another cocoon today at the bottom of my tank, it looks older and smaller, kinda looks broken down and just fell apart as I tried to take it out.
Microscope Video: First full exoskeleton pulled from tank,
This picture is of the one I found today on the left and on the right is the one from the Microscope Video.

 

[elysics]

Definitely no Stomatella

can you take a sharp image of the place where it's broken open? Particularly the part that covered the hole? That should be the face and maybe give some clues

Or does it look like theres another section missing there and maybe the whole thing is just the tail?

 

[reefsaver]

Definitely no Stomatella

can you take a sharp image of the place where it's broken open? Particularly the part that covered the hole? That should be the face and maybe give some clues

Or does it look like theres another section missing there and maybe the whole thing is just the tail?

I took these for you, from what I can see or it looks like the head is the only part that I haven't seen?

 

[elysics]

Yeah looks like it's missing segments then, my first thought was some weird isopod with the legs broken off, but now I'm not sure, it kind of looks to me more like the tail section of an insect

 

[reefsaver]

The main thing I tried to emphasize in this picture is the one on the right is a little bigger than the one on the left, the one on the left is also more decomposed and it might explain why it just fell apart as I took it out of the aquarium because I believe it was sitting in there longer as it was an older malt or shed belonging to the same living creature.
I think it was younger when it shed that's why the left old decomposed one is smaller.

 

[Reefer Reboot]

Google larder beetle larvae, see what you think.

 

[reefsaver]

Google larder beetle larvae, see what you think.

I checked it out and they do look very similar, what caught my eye the most was those two things on the rear in the picture you linked. Although I don't think it's the same, the body shape looks off.
I found this from googling Larder Beetle Larva.

It's closer I think but is still so much different. I firmly believe it's aquatic, though it's cool to see how it might be related or something. Seeing those two antennae things on the rear of the Larva you linked was super interesting and I really want to know what they are hehe. I just wonder what purpose they serve, I do think the antennae at the rear look slightly different as well but it's still cool that they might have a similar specific function. Might help narrow it down to some degree.

 

[reefsaver]

Just an update.
I changed out some impulse bought Texas holey rock that I got when I started my Reef and saw a little black thing at the bottom of my tank. Pulled it out and found it was another one of these exoskeleton things lol. I still have no idea what it is?