What Is This???????

[thekeyofb]

Okay...I went to my LFS and purchased what I thought was a piece of rock covered with coralline. My intention was to scrape the rock in an attempt to seed my aquarium with coralline algae. After placing the "rock" in the tank, I noticed it open and close. I finally took a picture of it open. Can someone tell me what this is?

 

[Tank2379]

I don't know but it looks scary.....

 

[thekeyofb]

Does anyone out there have any idea what this is?

 

[ccCapt]

Looks like oyster rock. I occasionally see it at the lfs. I had a few pieces years ago, but the oyster inside didn't live too long.

 

[thekeyofb]

Is there anything that I can do to confirm that is oyster rock? In other words, what can I check for? If it is oyster rock, are there any positives or negatives to having this in my aquarium?

 

[thekeyofb]

ok....so, no one has any idea huh? LOL

 

[jim.m257]

It looks like some kind of mollusk? Does it move at all? Maybe you could send the photo to a marine science lab, such as this one: Contact Us - Institute of Marine Sciences That's the contact page with a heap of people who I'm sure would be happy to help.. Maybe you've discovered a new species!! "thekeyofbeicus strangus"

 

[thekeyofb]

Thanks for your help with this issue. This has been bugging me for a while now. As far as I can tell, it has not moved at all. However, as you can see from the pictures, it does open and close what seems to be some type of mouth or something. When it is moved or tampered with, it closes really fast and it's slow to open again.

Again, thanks for the link. I will use it now. Hopefully, they can help me. If I have discovered a new species, I will name it exactly what you suggested....LOL

 

[ccCapt]

From Wetwebmedia.

FAQs about Bivalve Mollusk Identification​

Bivalves: Clams, Oysters, Mussels... Class Bivalvia

 

[thekeyofb]

Thanks again. I haven't given up just yet. I just emailed about 30 marine biologist. Hopefully, 1 will be able to identify this little monster in my tank.