Limpets

[Back where it all began]

Hi,
Has anyone had experience with limpets? I see algeabarn is advertising them and them seem like a good way to help control algae.

 

[Back where it all began]

Same question about sea lettuce.

 

[andrewey]

There are more than a few varieties of limpets, hence why some reefers hate them and some hate them, depending on which species they encountered. For most that are sold online and are not hitchhikers, they are a fantastic addition to a CUC and they're one of my favorites! However, I wouldn't base my algae control around them, merely the biological diversity and having a fun creature.

I would not suggest sea lettuce for algae control.

How old and large is the tank. Beyond nutrient control being the most important factor, second being manual removal, the species I would add would include mexican turbo snails or urchins for large mature tanks if we're talking about hair algae. This changes if you're concerned about film algae.

 

[Back where it all began]

There are more than a few varieties of limpets, hence why some reefers hate them and some hate them, depending on which species they encountered. For most that are sold online and are not hitchhikers, they are a fantastic addition to a CUC and they're one of my favorites! However, I wouldn't base my algae control around them, merely the biological diversity and having a fun creature.

I would not suggest sea lettuce for algae control.

How old and large is the tank. Beyond nutrient control being the most important factor, second being manual removal, the species I would add would include mexican turbo snails or urchins for large mature tanks if we're talking about hair algae. This changes if you're concerned about film algae.

I appreciate your thoughts. My tank is 75 gallon and is almost 1 year old. I don’t have an algae problem since going through the nasties early on. I mostly use emerald crabs and various sized hermits to pick at things. I have a Valentini puffer who is pretty well mannered except for snails, so that limits them.
I use chaeto in my fuge, but saw their info on sea lettuce and thought it looked interesting.
I think a few of them would be a nice visual addition.
If there is no film algae, can they eat other types of matter such as nori, etc?

 

[andrewey]

There's almost certainly enough algae on your rocks and back wall for the limpets to eat - no need to feed them nori. However, the urchin would likely need supplemental feeding if your algae is well controlled (and might eat your sea lettuce).

As far as sea lettuce is concerned, I think they are absolutely stunning and can be really striking! They are a slower growing macro algae compared with cheato, so I wouldn't use them as a primary nutrient exporter, but if they are for decoration, they are really cool to look at!

 

[Back where it all began]

There's almost certainly enough algae on your rocks and back wall for the limpets to eat - no need to feed them nori. However, the urchin would likely need supplemental feeding if your algae is well controlled (and might eat your sea lettuce).

As far as sea lettuce is concerned, I think they are absolutely stunning and can be really striking! They are a slower growing macro algae compared with cheato, so I wouldn't use them as a primary nutrient exporter, but if they are for decoration, they are really cool to look at!

Once again I appreciate your thoughts. I think a few limpets may be coming my way, ha.