Eel? Crab? clam? what is this hitchhiker?!

Hi all,
I recently added a frag with a nice grouping of mushrooms on it, and today something caught my eye, living in the rock. It looks like the mouth of some creature, and the curious part is, it snaps shut when it senses movement, i.e., I walk by the tank.

here is a link to a quick video clip of it, since I figured this is the best way to describe what's happening:

http://cobraftp.serveftp.com:81/pub/hitchhiker.wmv

What the heck is this thing??!

 

Wow, that is cool!!! Sorry, no good advise here. I am waaaayyyyy too new. But I will stay tuned.

 

My guess is it is some type of bivalve!!!!

 

I think it's a bivalve too, and judging by the fact that it appears to move both valves as it closes, I think it's probably an Ark Clam, family Arcidae. Other than tucking back against the rock and opening and closing, is it stationary?

Cheers,



Don

 

Hi guys, thanks for the replies! Don -- yes, it (so far) is stationary, other than the opening/closing. I was especially taken aback by the fact that it can "see" so well. I can be several feet from the tank and make a relatively small movement, and the little guy will quickly snap shut. the shell halves (assuming at this point that it is in fact some type of bivalve), come to a point, which looks almost like it has a pair of interlocking teeth on the tips. this is what made me think it was something more lively than a bivalve initially. the whole "jaw" is about 1 cm across; not a terribly big creature.

I did notice when I fed the fish this evening, that the creature stayed closed. I was watching quickly to see how it would react when the scent of food came into the water.

 

I would vote Bivalve as well.

J

 

wow thats wild!

 

Pretty cool hope you find out what it is.

 

thats so cool