Help!!! How to get rid of dozens of tiny limpets?

[SeeCrabRun]

So my tank hasn't had a single new thing put anywhere near it for almost 2 years. Only thing it gets is water changes and food/supplements.

It is a reef only tank, LPS, SPS, and some GSP on the back glass.

Suddenly a couple months ago these tiny specs appeared that looked like they might be baby snails. I assumed they must be babies from my CUC. CUC is over 2 years old and still going strong on its own.

Last week I found some big enough to identify and realized they are limpets. Then at night I stayed up to see how many there are and there are a LOT! Mostly tiny still, barely a spec, but some up to 3-5mm in size, still extremely small.

Then I realized they are eating away at my GSP, and that they are very likely NOT the safe ones. Today I saw one hanging out on an SPS, though I can't say if it was eating it or cleaning it.

I need to get rid of them before they start doing real damage, but how do I do that without destroying the tank? They are too tiny and too many to hand pick out of the tank. I can definitely pull the ones I can get to, but what about all the rest?

There are no fish in this tank, only corals and CUC. What are my options that won't hurt the good guys??

 

[SeeCrabRun]

Anyone?

 

[mcgyvr]

There is no "limpet" targeting chemical or anything that I know of..

 

[Randy27]

Either physical removal or maybe a beaked fish like a puffer...but he's potentially going to nibble on polyps too..

 

[LX20000]

Incredible Mr. Limpets?

 

[anthonys51]

are you sure they are limpets, normally they dont reproduce in aquariums in any significant numbers

 

[SeeCrabRun]

They are unbelievably tiny, but they do seem to look just like the pictures I found and have the hole in the top of the shell. It just looks like a dot but if I watch long enough I see what looks like stuff coming out of the dot. I know that's how limpets expel, so I'm going to say yes.

They are too tiny to hand pick out. I can manage on the few larger ones, but the small ones I can't get the leverage to get them to release from the rock. I'd have to take the rocks out of the tank to really get to them and that's not an option.

 

[anthonys51]

i have tiny snails all over my tank like over 100, maybe its them. they are also too tiny to see. but if you have more than 50 in your tank i will guess they arent limpets

 

[SeeCrabRun]

Let me see if I can post a picture.

 

[SeeCrabRun]

I'll try to grab the biggest one and get it out and do some macro shots, but here are a few from the night when they were out.

 

[anthonys51]

take one out, but maybe they are stomatella snail . they will breed in home aquariums. look a little like limpets

 

[SeeCrabRun]

Yeah I hoped it was but they have a little bit of a point and what I understood was stomas were smooth.

The tank is completely fishless for 12 months. I'm curious if that's why they could breed when normally they can't. Nothing to eat them off.

 

[themagicman]

Those look like Keyhole Limpets IMO. I used to have a bunch of these in one of my older tanks and didn't have any problems with them. I remember one time I found a bunch of them in the chamber of my protein skimmer.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/

 

[anthonys51]

its really to hard to tell imo from that picture. nut maybe i am just too old

 

[SeeCrabRun]

I don't actually have a good camera, but these would be better pictures.

I'm really quite certain they are limpets and they definitely were eating on my GSP.

 

[liverock]

next one

 

[liverock]

Those look like Keyhole Limpets IMO. I used to have a bunch of these in one of my older tanks and didn't have any problems with them. I remember one time I found a bunch in the chamber of my protein skimmer.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/

Correct.....and I have never heard of them spawning and growing in a reef tank.....keyholes are sought after...I get requests every week....the ones we have locally here in the gulf don't mess with corals...so most likely yours are an imported type. Strange it took so long for them to show up if there were no additions for years...

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface:

 

[SeeCrabRun]

Correct.....and I have never heard of them spawning and growing in a reef tank...most likely were eggs on something that was introduced...if not you may have something there...keyholes are sought after...I get requests every week....the ones we have locally here in the gulf don't mess with corals...so most likely yours are an imported type.

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :rollface:

The only thing put in the tank since June 2015 has been RODI, Red Sea Coral Pro salt, Zeovit supplements and Cyclopeeze.

Haven't even bought a new bucket, bottle, or package of any of those in that time. It's a fishless nano reef tank, so it doesn't go through much. In fact my zeovit bottles are expiring this month and they aren't even completely gone.

 

[SeeCrabRun]

I'm really quite boggled how they got in the system and on top of that, how they are multiplying so much.

 

[nodak]

They look just like the limpets I have in all my tanks. They showed up about 5 years ago on a LR purchase. They numbers go up and down but have never harmed any coral. My candy hogfish an melanurus seem to keep them in check in one of my tanks. In my other tanks they seem to do a good job on film algae on the glass. Never harmed anything