Reefsafe ?

[TekCat]

Can anyone enlighten me are the following creatutes reefsafe or not? And if special care or conditions are needed for them to survive in our tanks?

- Acanthopleura granulata (Chiton)
- Lucapina suffusa (Limpet)
- Amaroucium stellatum (Sea Squrit)

 

[Chad Vossen]

chiton, reef safe

limpet, reef safe

not sure with the sea squirt, though i think they are safe too but hard to maintain.

i used to have a big limpet, and they are impossible to get off of the rocks if you want them off. chitons are cool, i have seen one in a reef tank once before, it was the first time it was seen and the last time it was seen.

 

[TekCat]

Any info available on biology/requirements to keep these creatures?

 

[fishyvet]

I have a sea squirt in my reef tank for the last 3 mo. Doing well just sitting on the bottom of the tank and sifting the water column (my goby actually moved him under a rock so he is not getting any light but that does not seem to bother him). They appear to be reef safe

 

[Chad Vossen]

limpet is the same as a snail. or very similar.

chitons, im not sure but i also think they have similar diets to snails. of course there are many different kinds, some getting over a foot in length! while others reach a length of 1 inch or less.
sea squirts seem to need lots of phytoplankton/zooplankton

 

[TekCat]

Folks, here on RC, are most helpful as usual.
Thanks alot for answering my question.

 

[Digikill]

I have a 3 inch tall sea squirt attached to some of my live rock form the Gulf of Mexico . There are about three others growing in various places. They have a heart, stomach, gonads, and reproduce with swimming larvae. Once they attach to something they eat thier own brains! Some times they release sperm into the water and cloud it (yuck).

They are just harmless filter feeders. They suck water in the top hole and expel it out the side hole. They eat mostly phytoplankton.

You can grow phytoplankton cheaply yourself with kits from Florida Aqua Farms.

They sell a kit for about $18 that you can perpetually grow.

Sea squirts usually live only a year or so as adults. I think they are great water polishers and add interest to a tank.