Resolved Chiton ID (photo added)

I found what I believe to be a chiton in my tank. I am pretty sure that it is not a fuzzy, but cannot ID it properly to ID it properly.

Has 8 parts to its body. Can curl up like rolly polly bugs. The flesh part of it is green and slightly brown. The flash also has some red lines going through it. The shell is mainly brown with what looks like thick darker brown lines. It also has a few white spots on each section of the shell.

I removed him from the DT because that's what I do with everything I cannot identify. He/she/it is in a container until we can identify it and either confirm it to be reef safe or not.

 

It is a chiton which is reef safe, no need to worry. There are hundreds of tropical species.

 

looks like a common rock chiton found in the Caribbean. The locals eat them in the Bahamas they are actually pretty tasty.

 

I actually find him on one of my rocks.

Are all chitons reef safe? I was under the belief that not all of them were.

 

I'm not sure if Leslie meant this chiton is reef safe or all chitons are reef safe...

I do know that several are not (as per John at reefcleaners). I tend to throw stuff out when in doubt, but if this is safe, I'd really want to keep it. It's a nice looking chiton.

I recommend pinging 'pagojoe' for an answer. That guy is brilliant with snails.

 

Yea, I didn't know which she meant either and I prefer knowing for sure before I put something back in my tank.

I will try sending him a message.

 

Dr Leslie H. knows her stuff folks. Why not simply PM her to see what she meant? I defer to her on a lot of questions

 

Why Gresh, I thought you didn't defer to me on anything!

I meant any chiton that shows up in a reef tank will be reef safe in the sense that they are not predators and don't eat corals, fish, or other valuable livestock. 99% of chitons are grazers on micro-algae, organic films, and encrusting organisms. 1% are very specialized predators on small planktonic organisms like amphipods but these are cold water. A diver from the US Pacific coast could get one for a local habitat tank but not a tropical reefer buying LR.

There are two potential problems with chitons. One is that they will eat corallines so if you like pink rocks don't keep it. On the other hand they're great at keeping coralline under control. The second is that some people with acrylic tanks have complained that they leave scratch marks on the walls. I don't know how common that is.

Chitons can be very hard to identify because the shape of the shell plates & the hard mouth parts can essential characters. What reefers call "fuzzy chiton" is not one species but a whole mix of different species, genera, and families. I would just leave it as "smooth chiton".

 

In the sense that it's colorful with a smooth shell & fleshy margin, yes. I don't think there are any tropical Tonicella. They're all cold water species.

 

Hi Leslie. I guess I haven't really read threads you posted in yet. Couldn't find an intro thread for ya either.

You seem to know your stuff and come acclaimed by Gresham. If you don't mind my asking, who are you, what do you do?

P