Whodunit?

[land locked]

I had just finished cycling my tank when I noticed some kind of polyp or zoo of some kind, that survived on my LR and was making a come back, when a couple days later I noticed it looked healthy but was being eaten by something. This troubles me because my plan is to have a reef tank. I do not want everything I put in to be eaten. Now it is completely gone. Before purchase I checked compatibility with reefs on everything I put in and they all check out. Could you help me figure out whodunit? The offending invert will be banished back to the LFS.
Suspects:
1. emerald green crab
2. Sally lightfoot
3. peppermint shrimp
Other inverts of interest:
several kinds of hermit crabs and several kinds of snails.

 

[cmor1701d]

Do you have any photos of the polyp that was eaten?
Hard to tell unless you catch the critter in the act. If it was a hitchhiker aptaisia, then the pepeprmint might have done it and you should be thankful.

 

[ccCapt]

My 1st guess is #2, followed by #1.

 

[land locked]

No, I do not have a photo. But my best guess is a button polyp. There were about 8-10 little stumps clustered together on the top of a rock (peacefully recovering). Definetly not an aptaisia. I have seen those at the LFS.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

That would be my guess as well, that is if it wasn't aptasia as cmor mentioned, in which case you can issue a reprieve to #3 as he did you a favour.

This is also discounting the possibility of a hitch hiker that is chowin down on your zoos. The ones I could find are

spiders, nudibranches and sundial snails.

 

[land locked]

I don't think I have any unknown hitchikers. Since AA all told me about the red light at night we are addicted we spend hours down there just watching. Haven't seen any unidentified. Oh, I have a bristle worm, could he be guilty?
No spiders or nudibranches, I will look into the sundial????

 

[land locked]

OK after much research today, what I have is a Banded Trochus Snail. No sundials. I also have some nassarius, turbo, margarita, Astera and cerith.

 

[land locked]

I forgot I also have an asian fighting conch and a nerite.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I don't think I have any unknown hitchikers. ...

You'll be amazed at the life that you'll see in the next 4-6 months that you didn't realize you had.

 

[land locked]

Oh, I am sure. I know this sounds crazy but my husband is changing our refugium to a much larger one already. He loves it. He says the main tank is mine and the refugium is his. By the way, can you put a hermit crab in the refug? We all ready have a snail in there but some of the chaeto has hariy algae on it and I wanted to put a scarlet hermit in to eat it. Will he eat all the amphipods we have? How much can you put in the refug, everything but fish, I assume. We are curing 25 # of live rubble for the new refug. I know he is nuts.He says the amphipods look like little kids on a jungle gym in the chaeto.