My new coral

[Strider199]

For my third coral I purchased a nice large purple rock with Green Star Polyps. The coral is on both sides of the rock which is taller then it is wide. I've read where some peeps think this is an invasive species but with my current lighting its what will work.
Found a large snail in this coral chunk when I had it in my specimen container, looking at images it looks like a Stomatella snail. After reading up on this type of snail I put it into the tank.

[Crispy]

funny, I also got a stomatella snail with my GSPs. he's a decent little cleaner.

my GSPs love to be in the current. spreads quickly aswell. one of my favs and a relatively easy coral.

[Drumachine09]

Love getting new corals/live rock just for the hitchhikers. So many cool things to discover.

[Strider199]

The GSP is starting to open up more today. My skunk cleaner shrimp hasn't left that rock since he found it yesterday. What could he possibly be picking off that piece.
That stomatella snail was visible yesterday for a few hours. Since then he's blended into the rock somewhere.
I do so like the extra hitchhikers I've found so far. Besides that snail my last frag had a brittle star in it.

[Strider199]

I came home tonight and noticed that my nice flat piece of waving hand coral ( Blue Anthelia), has what looks like lawn mower marks running through it. There are 1/2 inch wide clear paths going across the rock it is anchored too. I then saw my last hitch hiker the Stomatella snail with what looks like a camo shell. There are waving hand polyps attached to it's shell. What gives? Is this a common practise for snails to mow down corals? I wonder if the polyps on the snails shell will drop off throughout the tank and anchor down on some live rock or will this snail decimate the coral over time?

[Crispy]

I have never seen my stomatella mow down any corals. not to say it couldn't happen though. I'm still a reef noob aswell.

[Strider199]

After a few hours of searching the web after really seeing the culprit it looks like
a soft coral eating Nubi.

Tritoniopsis elegans Adult
(Audouin, 1826)

I have a piece of rock with coral attached to it in a specimen container right now. My son noticed something sticking out of a hole in the side of the rock. It doesn't move with the water flow but moves as it wants. I tried prodding it slightly and it retracts into the rock. Man is this hobby brain racking.

[Strider199]

The one we found tonight which I placed in the specimen container is very similar to this picture I found;

Phyllodesmium crypticum
Rudman, 1981
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae

This one is not the nudi we saw last night but it was living in the rock of the soft coral and the write up says it eats this type of coral. The larger one I saw last night is way neater looking and alot bigger and faster. I'm hoping to get a better picture of it tonight.