hitchiker id please

[Kimlafeiet]

Got some live rock for a great price yesterday. added about 10 pounds to my tank. It definitely has life, I am seeing good stuff like little pods and some possible feather duster tubers.....but tonight I found 2 things I need help with. There is a little brittle star creature in there. brown or blackish from what I could see. he quickly slipped back into the rock when I spotted him. Good or bad?
Also, found 2 slug snailish looking things just cruisin the tank. one is bigger than the other. They look like they have layers of a shell on thier backs, but a long exposed snail like body. My initial thought is some kind of slug? Good or bad? pics attached.

 

[bribo12]

First is probably a micro brittle star which are good scavengers and the second in he pictures is a stomatella snail. Very good algae eater and will reproduce in the tank!

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Oh good. I started browsing and came up with a stomatella too. Glad it is a "good" hitchhiker. Cool. Got lucky, good scavengers AND some pods.

 

[aquandrew]

brittle stars are really interesting creatures. they aren't actually starfish, they are actually closer related to sea urchins and sponges than they are with starfish. they have a mouth, but no anus that a starfish has. they also use moving their legs to move around when starfish use hundreds of tube feet to move. i have a brittle star that i found a few weeks ago and i love it and did some research about them

 

[bribo12]

brittle stars are really interesting creatures. they aren't actually starfish, they are actually closer related to sea urchins and sponges than they are with starfish. they have a mouth, but no anus that a starfish has. they also use moving their legs to move around when starfish use hundreds of tube feet to move. i have a brittle star that i found a few weeks ago and i love it and did some research about them

Brittle starfish are starfish...they belong to the phylum Echinodermata along with sea urchins and cucumbers. Their mouth and anus are one just like starfish. They are just in the class Ophiuroidea. They are in no way related to sponges which are in the phylum Porifera. Just had to clear that up.

 

[chefbill]

As for snails: Many people ask about a snail or slug with a half-shell on its back. They are called Stomatella, and are fast moving slugs. Their shell is similar to a fingernail in shape, which covers the head and torso of the creature. They are found moving about the rockwork especially at night, and are an excellent part of the clean-up crew. They do breed and you may see smaller ones, but I've never seen them reach plague proportions. Reef-safe.

Text stolen from "Melev's Reef"

 

[Kimlafeiet]

I am super excited to see such good hitchhikers! I spotted either a 2nd brittle star, or the first one moved to the other side of the rock. Lol
Just keep seeing the legs coming out, but as soon as I try to take a better look, it goes all the way back inside.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Hey guys. So, I think I am seeing a not so good hitchhiker. I have found a few strings swaying in the current, attached to my lr. They are thin like thread, and small, about 1/2 inch or so. I did some reasearch, and from what I can best tell, they look like digitate hydroids.
Does anyone know how to effectively remove these guys? I dont want to ditch the rock because it does have so many "good" hikers, but I dont want to end up with major problems down the road.
If anyone has dealt with these sucessfully, please let me know your tricks

 

[chefbill]

Vermetid?

Could be a vermetid snail, harmless mostly, mucus net/threads can irratate nearby corals

 

[mr_X]

Hey guys. So, I think I am seeing a not so good hitchhiker. I have found a few strings swaying in the current, attached to my lr. They are thin like thread, and small, about 1/2 inch or so. I did some reasearch, and from what I can best tell, they look like digitate hydroids.
Does anyone know how to effectively remove these guys? I dont want to ditch the rock because it does have so many "good" hikers, but I dont want to end up with major problems down the road.
If anyone has dealt with these sucessfully, please let me know your tricks

You aren't going to have any problems down the road with them. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Brilliant_Barbs_21]

I have tons of hydroids in my tank and they're fine. Unless you planning on getting seahorses, it shouldn't be a problem.