Is this a chiton?

[reefman23]

I just found this bad boy crawling up the glass of my tank. I think it is a chiton. If so, they are good, right? Let me know

 

[sadielynn]

no I dont think it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton
I think it is a limpet snail
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snailidfaqs.htm

 

[reefman23]

Well...I did a little research and i dont think it is a chiton nor a limpet. It doesnt have a distinct shell, instead it has a hard surface only in it s head region (only about a fifth of its body). This hard spot is the light purple area in pic 3. the rest of the body is soft like a slug. It had a very good grip on the glass when i took it off.

 

[reefman23]

It looked similar to this nudi that i found online at http://www.humboldt.edu/~natmus/newslet ... luscs.html

 

[sadielynn]

I would isolate it till you can confirm what it is

 

[incysor]

It's most likely a stometella snail. They're harmless, and eat algae. They're not major workhorses like some others, but they do eat some, and don't harm anything.

Some limpets also have very small partial shells on the back. Look up keyhole limpets.

B

 

[drty811]

stometella snail for sure, have a bunch of them in my ten.

 

[Abarnswell]

For your reading pleasure...

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheet ... _varia.htm