limpits

[vultao1]

are limpits safe for reef aquariums i can get some wild caught ones and i heard they were great for eating algae.They are in the snail family???

 

[gary faulkner]

I have thousands and they don't seem to bother anything. Don't know what they eat but they are always on the glass.

 

[vultao1]

the limpits i have are from the azores islands and grow to about three inchs.Their shell inside is a very beautiful blue almost looks pearl. still safe??

 

[gary faulkner]

All mine are tiny compared to yours. Never seen any that big!
Do they hang out on the glass or do you see them on the rocks also?
Do they ever crawl around on coral?

 

[billsreef]

Take some good pictures of them, both topside and the underside. Post them in the Invert Forum for an ID. Otherwise we're only guessing

 

[murraycamp]

I agree. Also, some confuse limpets with Stomatella snails, which are reef safe.

 

[vultao1]

i know for sure they are limpets and the spend most of their time on rockwork of course thats in the wild im portugeuse and these type of limpet we eat their called lappas in my language i havent put any in my tank yet because i wnt to be sure their safe.

 

[H2OLUVSME]

Dr Ron Shimek has posted munerous articles on reef safe limpets. Maybe you can find what you have in one of his articles. I did a quick search on Reefkeeping magazine and found a bunch of stuff to look through.

 

[greenbean36191]

Like Bill said, we really need a picture. There are a whole lot of limpets and their reef safeness varies. Common names don't help much because they're often used for a group of similar looking species.

That being said, any animal from the Azores isn't likely to do well at reef temps long term. The water there averages quite a bit cooler than reefs. Although some intertidal animals like limpets are adapted to deal with elevated temperatures, their adaptations are for short term increases, not constantly high temps. Also, if these are an intertidal species, they may crawl above the waterline (and even out of the tank) and wait there for the tide to come in, which obviously isn't going to happen.

There are plenty of cheap tropical grazers in the hobby, so I would be inclined to leave the limpets in the wild, even though they are free.

 

[vultao1]

thanks i see your a marine bio and i really respect your opinion i'll leave them to eating rather than in my tank thanks for being helpful.