Hitchiker/Pest/Critter/ what the heck IS THIS, Please Help!

[reefsaver]

I bought my first ever coral about 4 months ago, a small 2 head Torch and a fungia plate coral, I dipped them both and got a small flatworm off the torch luckily. A few days into owning the torch and watching it get used to the water and extend, I noticed a little section of bristly exoskeleton floating around my tank. I disregarded it thinking cool, if anything is living in there that's awesome. It became a rare occasion I have with my tank where once in a few weeks or so I haven't really timed it, I see a single top segment of bristly exoskeleton floating in the water column.
But now I have captured the first full intact exoskeleton I have seen that hasn't been shredded by a pump.
I tried to take the best pictures I could.

I have no idea what this is but I'm glad I took so many photos, In the pictures I flip it as well. Super scared to touch it bare finger. Fibre glass prickles are like my ultimate hate and whatever those brittle spikes are, I don't want them in me lol.
Help me figure out if I can keep it hehe! I don't mind keeping hitchikers, I think some of them are so awesome, it kind of looks like an ancient trilobite .


It's a shed exoskeleton that's all I know.

 

[TnFishwater98]

I bought my first ever coral about 4 months ago, a small 2 head Torch and a fungia plate coral, I dipped them both and got a small flatworm off the torch luckily. A few days into owning the torch and watching it get used to the water and extend, I noticed a little section of bristly exoskeleton floating around my tank. I disregarded it thinking cool, if anything is living in there that's awesome. It became a rare occasion I have with my tank where once in a few weeks or so I haven't really timed it, I see a single top segment of bristly exoskeleton floating in the water column.
But now I have captured the first full intact exoskeleton I have seen that hasn't been shredded by a pump.
I tried to take the best pictures I could.

I have no idea what this is but I'm glad I took so many photos, In the pictures I flip it as well. Super scared to touch it bare finger. Fibre glass prickles are like my ultimate hate and whatever those brittle spikes are, I don't want them in me lol.
Help me figure out if I can keep it hehe! I don't mind keeping hitchikers, I think some of them are so awesome, it kind of looks like an ancient trilobite .

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It's a shed exoskeleton that's all I know.

Looks like a snail with growth on its shell , but there is something else strange about it. Does it have a tail?

 

[reefsaver]

Looks like a snail with growth on its shell , but there is something else strange about it. Does it have a tail?

I think it just looks that way because the segment closest to where it's head would be I would assume "Or the little section you see that looks like it might be a snail" is actually just the foremost segment of exoskeleton, it looks slightly damaged on that segment so It's not entirely intact. It has these 2 little tail antennae looking things at what I think is the rear, similar to a land insect called Buchy boys or Woodlouse.

 

[TnFishwater98]

I think it just looks that way because the segment closest to where it's head would be I would assume "Or the little section you see that looks like it might be a snail" is actually just the foremost segment of exoskeleton, it looks slightly damaged on that segment so It's not entirely intact. It has these 2 little tail antennae looking things at what I think is the rear, similar to a land insect called Buchy boys or Woodlouse.

Figured that was the head. The second to last pic looks like a snapping turtle tail...lol

 

[reefsaver]

It's a hollow exoskeleton that something has shed I know that for sure, I really want to know what it belongs to.

 

[MaxTremors]

I have no idea, but it looks more like an egg casing/shell or some sort of cocoon. Its hard to tell from the pictures, but it doesn’t look bilaterally symmetrical (in the last photo, there’s a little circle on the left side that doesn’t appear on the right. If it were a molt from something, it would be completely symmetrical.

 

[TnFishwater98]

It's a hollow exoskeleton that something has shed I know that for sure, I really want to know what it belongs to.

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Put it in a QT small tank

 

[reefsaver]

I have no idea, but it looks more like an egg casing/shell or some sort of cocoon. Its hard to tell from the pictures, but it doesn’t look bilaterally symmetrical (in the last photo, there’s a little circle on the left side that doesn’t appear on the right. If it were a molt from something, it would be completely symmetrical.

I caught it floating around the tank, it may have gone through the stream pump once damaging that little segment making it not symmetrical. I can see inside it and I really tried so hard to get a photo refracting a little light off the hollow inside so people could tell. But the cocoon thing was one of my first thoughts as well, But it's shedding it's cocoon? The reason I say is I've seen pieces of it floating around my aquarium on occasion for months so it must be going through some malting cycle. This is the first time I've actually gotten a full exoskeleton malt like this intact out of the tank, normally I will occasionally see just one top segment floating through the water column and it eventually disappears in the tank.
I think you're right that it's a cocoon. I think if I thought the same thing that sounds likely. It doesn't have legs from what I can see or in the photos. It's just a weird bristly cocoon that malts? what the heck is it lol?

 

[reefsaver]

I'm breaking out the microscope for the Forum here we go.

 

[TnFishwater98]

I caught it floating around the tank, it may have gone through the stream pump once damaging that little segment making it not symmetrical. I can see inside it and I really tried so hard to get a photo refracting a little light off the hollow inside so people could tell. But the cocoon thing was one of my first thoughts as well, But it's shedding it's cocoon? The reason I say is I've seen pieces of it floating around my aquarium on occasion for months so it must be going through some malting cycle. This is the first time I've actually gotten a full exoskeleton malt like this intact out of the tank, normally I will occasionally see just one top segment floating through the water column and it eventually disappears in the tank.
I think you're right that it's a cocoon. I think if I thought the same thing that sounds likely. It doesn't have legs from what I can see or in the photos. It's just a weird bristly cocoon that malts? what the heck is it lol?

It’s official! Aliens did land their UFO in the ocean and laid eggs! LOL
I have no idea...

 

[reefsaver]

I put together a lil video with some chill music, enjoy
Hope it helps us figure this out hehe,
Microscope Footage:

 

[reefsaver]

Microscope footage of the same Shell for a better look:

 

[Powahfull]

To me it would resemble a Black Stomtella snail with some growths on it maybe that helps?

 

[Cell]

Looks like a bug rear end.

 

[kzenoni]

Looks like the tail end of a wasp. Stinger appears on pointed end.

 

[Durhamreefer]

Agree - looks like a flying critters rear.

 

[reefsaver]

Looks like the tail end of a wasp. Stinger appears on pointed end.

Wasp stingers are internal they don't sit on the exoskeleton, it also has two "Stinger" points on the rear end of it as apposed to one internal stinger. I don't think they're stingers,
If you look at the Microscope footage it looks to me most like an Isopod, although it's my best guess, I can't find any info on it.
It could be some kind of flying insect for all I know but from the Microscope footage I know for sure that it's:
An invertebrate
A malted shell, meaning whatever it belongs too is still inside the Display Tank.
I just jogged my memory and remember the first time I ever started seeing segments of it floating in the water column was after I bought my Trochus Snails. So I'm kind of leaning into this Parasitic Isopod theory a little more. But I haven't seen one identical Isopod anywhere yet. I'm taking the footage to my LFS today in hopes they can help identify it

 

[reefsaver]

I just googled "Bristly Isopod" and the results showed this Bristly Millipede.

it looks dang close, not as spikey or large.

 

[reefsaver]

I just googled "Bristly Isopod" and the results showed this Bristly Millipede.View attachment 2224371
it looks dang close, not as spikey or large.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Umm that’s a bug part that fell in your tank..