Check out this green stomatella(?)

jaidexl · 07-15-2007, 07:04 PM

If anyone is itching to ID critters, this little green munchkin came out of some local macroalgae I brought home, resembles stomatella. It's pretty darn green and I am definitely NOT putting it in my tank unless 10 people tell me it's the greatest thing ever. Cool looking though.

MDeth · 07-15-2007, 07:25 PM

The tail throws me off. Usually they aren't like that.

Ditch it..if you ever want some stomatellas, I have a ton I could send ya (and some coral

jaidexl · 07-15-2007, 07:54 PM

Yeah, I thought for sure it was a nudi at first, but there does seem to be a shell on it, too green and tiny to tell. Shame, he's proabably munching the algae, would defeat the purpose of trying to get the macros going. He's the same green as the feather caulerpa I found.

inwall75 · 07-15-2007, 08:47 PM

I don't know....cool animal either way IMO.

There's so many species in the Stomatella genus that even scientists are too lazy to ID them.

When you see the words Stomatella varia (using proper binomial nomenclature) the word 'varia' isn't the species of the genus like normal. Varia basically means "Various" in latin. Stomatella spp or Stomatella sp would be the same thing. They either can't, or won't, ID down to the species level.

jaidexl · 07-15-2007, 09:01 PM

Interesting. I wouldn't doubt it's some type of stoma now after getting some closer looks, the tail is weird and has ribs like a caterpillar but it's profile matches a stoma any day. Might be a really good algae eater, I'm gonna see how long I can keep it going in a closed system. In the future if I can get some more and they breed, maybe I can test it on algae or donate some to another member to try. They may rely solely on the caulerpa, I have a feeling it won't last long after I remove it and give it something else to eat, I gave some of the caulerpa a quick bleach solution dip then FW and one more of these guys came out.

jaidexl · 07-16-2007, 12:09 AM

Finally ID it, with the help of a forum member who's familiar with them, by searching for Caulerpa taxifolia predators, which I'm 89% sure is the feather Caulerpa I found it on. It's Oxynoe olivacea, a reef safe sea slug (not a nudi) that feeds on leafy macros, I've been told it's good against Briopsis, too. It's been studied as a possible biological control organism against invasive Caulerpa, wouldn't be surprised if it was introduced locally for that reason.

Anyone interested in some if I can establish them on other things besides Caulerpa?