Skirted Limpets?

[melas]

i saw this pic in the hitchhiker gallery
i always thought they were some kind of nudibranch. . .interesting
here is the link to the picture that is in that forum

http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/da ... _Black.jpg

so does anyone have any info on these critters? i assume they are grazers as when i look at my tank at night they are all over the glass munching away. i started out with one 3 years ago and now there are probably 40 in my reef tank (lots of babies). kind of unsettling like they are going to come up the stairs and get me some night! ha!

anyhow, if these turn out to be beneficial (which they seem to be-not a speck of undesirable algae in my tanks) i'd be willing to trade a handful or five for a coral frag of some kind. if you want pics of mine i can certainly post but they are identical to the one in the pic above!

thanks!

 

[spsmike]

I beleive those eat flatworms, but I cant remember......Dude I love your avatar! How did you make that?

 

[melas]

well i'm a web developer / web designer. i get paid to play with photoshop 8 hours a day! hehe. if you have photoshop 6 and above (i think - i'm running Photoshop CS 8.0) you can use the sister product Image Ready and do any animations you want. If you have a pic you want animated just post or send it to me and i'll make it happen! thanks for the compliment! and yes, that is my tank and my psuedochromis.

and thanks for the info!

 

[Anonymous]

Are you sure you don't have Scutus Sp.. They are common hitchhikers, they multiply like crazy and are herbivores. They are not limpets but slugs.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[melas]

well they are whatever you have right there. that definitely look like the critter in the picture you have. they have a hard shell on their dorsal surface below the skin. i thought they were some kind of slug/nudibranch before i saw a picture of them labeled skirted limpet. i definitely thought they were grazers as i've witnessed them on the glass. Thanks for the info! PS - they certainly DO multiply like crazy. . .i have them in all of my tanks and i've been pulling them out recently for fear of them overpopulating and killing the whole "herd" like deer! thanks again!

 

[btang]

I'm pretty sure its a Elephant snail, Scutus, Black Limpet (see Inverterbrates by Sprung page 113) Sprung says they will feed on coral tissue and are not reef safe.

 

[melas]

i'll have to check that book out. . . i have his book on corals not the inverts though. i can't believe that the species i have eats corals. i've had them for over 3 years and have never had any coral damage. at night they are all on the glass eating the thin algae film develops there. thanks for the info though. . . i'll definitely be investigating this further!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure its a Elephant snail, Scutus, Black Limpet (see Inverterbrates by Sprung page 113) Sprung says they will feed on coral tissue and are not reef safe.

Read again.
"There are several described species in the Pacific, and the common black one may or may not be S. unguis." Sprung.

"Many fissurellids are sponge feeders, but the general consensus is that Scutus is an algal grazer." Bill Rudman

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[btang]

Good catch davidmohr, hope I have the common black, but mine looks like the one pictured. With the shell showing. Thinking of moving him into the refugium.