WWC hitchhiker

[tzabor10]

Found this little guy on a frag if WWC Money Shot Montipora. @WWC
Any ideas?

 

[Dom]

It looks like a Brittle Star. Good to have if it is.

 

[tzabor10]

A few more

 

[tzabor10]

It looks like a Brittle Star. Good to have if it is.

But it moves like a spider

 

[TexAgReefer]

Definitely looks like a sea spider to me

 

[Privateye]

It is 100% a sea spider. They eat anemones, including mushroom polyps. I've had some come in from the Orlando stores too.

Seachem Reef Dip (iodine) killed them for me. Also watch out for nudibranchs on WWC zoanthids. I got an infected frag from their $5-10 bins. Iodine didn't touch the nudibranch eggs, but hydrogen peroxide sure did.

Dip every coral you buy, especially from a store with high product turnover.

The sea star is an Asterina star. They get mixed reviews. I personally don't mind them unless their population gets out of control.

If the guy in the last photo is like a snail with a flat shell (kind of like a tiny abalone) that's a stomatella snail. They are great! They breed in the aquarium, which feeds corals in the process. They also come out at night, and their small profile means they don't do any bulldozing. I wish I still had my colony.

 

[tzabor10]

Kept the stomatella, ditched the spider and Asterina. Asterina with those dark colors sometimes munch zoanthids. Thanks everyone