WTH elephant slug just showed up

[ZeroHour]

This "thing"

Looks like a snail but has no shell

It has a large black veil that is somewhat transparent.

It was near the size of a half dollar. I did hurt it a bit when I scraped it into the container its now in...

2 antennaes

The underside shows a white snail like body and moves like a very fast snail...it was on my overflow...I have never seen this thing before nor have i seen others.

Where would it have come from? I havent changed anything in this tank in a year at least.

Are they reef safe? I havent lost anything recently other than a coral i nuked during a water change and a set of zoas that had some issues.

If its not reef safe does someone want it?

[Gseclipse02]

whoops i was wronmg

[350gt]

You have a pic?

[Sherita]

They are completely reef safe, and a fantastic algae control critter. I have them in every last one of my tanks. If you ever got coral from me, that's probably where it came from. They will NOT hurt your corals.

[ZeroHour]

Oh ya have definitely gotten a few pieces from you like 2 frag swaps ago.

[Sherita]

He won't hurt your corals. Please don't kill him, put him in your sump or something. Really, they are very innocuous. They are generally nocturnal, only occasionally do I see mine out during the day. But if I flip a rock or frag over, I can almost guarantee that I will find three or four of them. They mow the algae down in my frag tanks and keep things looking spiffy and clean. They are one of the few beneficial algae eaters that will reliably reproduce in our tanks. I probably have at least a hundred of them. Started off with four.

[Flyride95]

I believe it is a Stomatella Snail. And if it is they are harmless.

[Sherita]

If it's as large as a half dollar, it's not a stomatella. The only thing that fits the description is an elephant snail (scutus scutus). A harmless algae eater, they can be a bit surprising if you don't expect them. They come from tiny (less than 1/4"), to HUGE (I have some well over 2"). They are easy to identify. They are black with a small white marking on their back. They do have a shell, but it is internal. The underside is white, and they have two antenna. They are somewhat oval shaped, and can have a "ruffled" appearance. Since he got coral from me in the past, I am pretty confident that he has an elephant snail that hitchhiked from my tank. They are on just about every rock or frag plug in my tanks.

[Flyride95]

Lol awesome

[Mr Cob]

haha, those things are awesome! Completely reef safe. I found one awhile back in my sump.

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?65992-Coolest-hitch-hiker-I-ve-seen-Elephant-Snail&highlight=elephant+snail

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5651592449_4db2c92c28.jpg

[ZeroHour]

he was freed from his frag container and is back in the DT thanks everyone, had not see one before

[Scutterborn]

Freeeedoooom!!

- William Wallace -


- Ben -