Limpet ate corals

[mattGgator]

Just an FYI, not all keyhole limpets are ok for your tank. I've gone an entire year without them touching a coral. Then all of the sudden, I caught one munching away today on my bird of paradise who was perfectly healthy was some crazy PE pre-limpet feast. Now, the entire base of the coral frag has been eaten of its green tissue and many polyps are missing and most are fully retracted. I have gone on a limpet hunt and taken all I could find out of my tank. They were perfectly happy eating algae until I ran out of it. :mad2:

 

[dantdodge]

can you post some pics of damaged coral and a pic of the limpet that caused the damage. I think I might have some and want to ID them and see if they are causing any harm.

 

[mattGgator]

I will later. Headed to campus right now.

 

[M007]

Although Limpet snails provide some algae grazing value the risks far out weigh the benefits. Some have razor sharp teeth that can mow through coraline algae and will move on to other forms of food when the run out of their natural diet. A pin cushion urchin might be a better choice.