ID please - what hitchhiker liquified peppermint shrimp??

[daverf]

I have been quarantining a piece of live rock in a separate tank, with nothing else in it. I've notices a few hitchikers - bristleworms, a black slug with raised hairs, a few small isopods, and some aiptasia.

I threw a peppermint shrimp in the QT tank, to hopefully take care of the aiptasia.

The shrimp didn't make it (probably because I did a lightning fast acclimation...wups).

I noticed it struggling at the end of life. A few minutes later, it was taken and hung in suspense outside an unknown hitchhiker's layer, with almost a slime cocoon. About 24 hours later, its body liquidated and a blob left, with only legs and antenna distinguishably left.

Woah. What could this be?


View attachment 12791

 

[asn-naso]

That looks like the molted skin of the shrimp, which is common after they've been stressed. You may still have one alive.

 

[Rebel]

+1

 

[daverf]

Before the hitchhiker pulled it to the outside of its lair, it did look like the full dead shrimp to me. I guess it's possibly the molt, but I've never seen a molt that looks like this gel blob (I've kept peppermint shrimp before).

Anyone know what hitchhiker might wrap a mucous cocoon around a shrimp molt and eat it?

 

[Vance]

Ive seen bacteria/fungal films cover dead organisms in less than a day like that but those were almost fuzzy. Almost looks like it was spit out by a nem.

 

[Vance]

Cone snail? Where is the rock from?

 

[Vance]

Some nudibraches are carnivorous might want to ID your "slug"

 

[daverf]

Cone snail? Where is the rock from?

I haven't seen any shelled snails ever in the rock. I don't know exactly where the rock is from, although it probably has been kept with rock from all over. It doesn't seem to have any real Atlantic flavor except the aiptasia. I'll post a pic.

Some nudibraches are carnivorous might want to ID your "slug"

I probably should try to post pics of the stuff I've seen on it. Good idea. I wonder if there could be isopods that could be troublesome as well. I see little pillbug type guys crawling around at night.

Would a plain bristleworm eat a dead peppermint or its molt? I do have bristleworms, but originally figured them to be too small to do this.