snail baby pictures?????? could it be

[Live Rock Ricky]

can i get one of you gurus here to confirm or deny my feeling that these are baby snails? It appears my snails had babies! they sure act like snails ie sucking on the glass, moving slowly, etc....

[Reefland]

Sure is what they look like to me.

[zhenya]

No offence but I have to disagree. They look like the fully grown small limpets to me. I have gazillion of them in both of my tanks. It would be helpfull if you could take one of those out and photograph the shell from the top as well. If the shell has small hole in it then they are certainly the aformentioned limpets.

[klea]

Hello I am sorry to but in but I haven't been on this site before and I can't find where to type a question? I have a problem with an anemonae. How do I start a "thread"?

[Reefland]

Take Gene's word for it over mine. He is much more versed in these types of ID's.

[Reefland]

Use this link:
http://www.reefland.com/forum/newthr...newthread&f=29

[zhenya]

Take Gene's word for it over mine. He is much more versed in these types of ID's.

Scott, I'll attach couple of shots of mine to compare to Ricky's snails. I had mine identified by Ron as limpets (hence why I come out sounding all smart and stuff... ). Having said that, Ricky;s snails could be totally different.

Forgot the pix...

[Live Rock Ricky]

zhenya

there doesn't appear to be any shell just yet. is this a good thing or bad thing? does it mean my tank is healthy and live?

[zhenya]

zhenya

there doesn't appear to be any shell just yet. is this a good thing or bad thing? does it mean my tank is healthy and live?

Ricky,

There is a shell on those snails, look closely and you'll see it. In your first image the soft part(snail's body) is under a shell.
And yes, your tank alive but how healthy it is I cannot say since I am not there in person to see it. ;)

[Live Rock Ricky]

well, get your azz here to see it! lmao....

[Live Rock Ricky]

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Limpets

Four Patella vulgata limpets in their natural habitat (here northwestern Galicia). One animal was separated from the rock and turned over to show the underside and muscular foot.

Scientific classificationKingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
Order:Patellogastropoda
Lindberg, 1986Suborders and familiesSee text.

Limpet is a common name used for many kinds of mostly saltwater but also freshwater snails, specifically those that have a simple shell which is more or less broadly conical in shape, and which is either not coiled, or appears not to be coiled, in the adult snail.
Thus the word "limpet" is an inexact name which is fairly often used as part of the common name of a wide variety of different marine and freshwater gastropod species, some of which have gills and some of which have a lung. The name is given on the basis of a limpet-like or "patelliform" shell, but the several groups of snails which have such a shell are not at all closely related to one another.
The phrase "true limpets" is used only for marine limpets in the ancient order Patellogastropoda, in the subclass Eogastropoda. In the latest taxonomy the Patellogastropoda have become an unranked taxon as a separate clade including :

• Superfamily Patelloidea
  • Family Patellidae
• Superfamily Nacelloidea
  • Family Nacellidae
• Superfamily Lottioidea
  • Family Lottiidae
  • Family Acmaeidae
  • Family Lepetidae
• Superfamily Neolepetopsoidea
  • Family Neolepetopsidae
  • † Family Daminilidae
  • † Family Lepetopsidae

As well as being applied to true limpets, the common name "limpet" is also used for many widely different snails in the subclass Orthogastropoda, including:
Marine limpets:

• The keyhole limpets - Fissurellidae
• The slipper limpets or slipper shells - Calyptraeidae
• The hoof limpets - Hipponix

• The opisthobranch notaspidean limpets such as Tylodina and Umbraculum

• The pulmonate false limpets - Siphonaria

Freshwater limpets:

• The pulmonate river and lake limpets - Ancylidae and Acroloxidae

Most of the marine limpets have gills, whereas all the freshwater limpets and a few of the marine limpets have a mantle cavity which is adapted to breathe air and function as a lung; all these various kinds of snail are only very distantly related. In other words, the name limpet is used to describe various extremely diverse groups of gastropods which have independently evolved a shell of the same basic shape, see convergent evolution.
This article is specifically about "True limpets", which are marine gastropod mollusks in the order Patellogastropoda, for example, species such as Patella vulgata.
Contents

[hide]

• <LI class=toclevel-1>1 Introduction to true limpets <LI class=toclevel-1>2 Distribution <LI class=toclevel-1>3 Habitat <LI class=toclevel-1>4 Life habits
  • <LI class=toclevel-2>4.1 Feeding <LI class=toclevel-2>4.2 Homing behaviour <LI class=toclevel-2>4.3 Predators and other risks
  • 4.4 Reproduction
  <LI class=toclevel-1>5 Human use <LI class=toclevel-1>6 Taxonomy of the true limpets, clade Patellogastropoda <LI class=toclevel-1>7 References
• 8 External links

//

[edit] Introduction to true limpets

Limpets have flattened, cone-shaped shells, and the majority of species are commonly found adhering strongly to rocks or other hard substrates, looking like little bumps on the surface. In life, many limpet shells are often covered in microscopic growths of green marine algae, which can make them even harder to see, as they can closely resemble the rock surface itself.
The majority of limpet species have shells that are less than 3 in (8 cm) in maximum length and many are much smaller than that.
Until quite recently a west Mexican limpet species, the giant limpet, Patella (Ancistromesus) mexicana, was known to grow as large as 8 in (20 cm). This species is now in serious danger of extinction, as it is slow to reach maturity, and has suffered from overcollecting, both as a food item, and by shell collectors and dealers.

[edit] Distribution

Representatives from the order Patellogastropoda, the true limpets, live on the rocky coasts of all oceans world-wide.

[edit] Habitat

Various different species live throughout the intertidal zone, from the high zone (upper littoral zone) to the shallow subtidal.
They attach themselves to the substrate using pedal mucus and a muscular "foot". They locomote using wave-like muscular contractions of the foot when conditions are suitable for them to graze. They can also "clamp down" against the rock surface with very considerable force when necessary, and this ability enables them to remain safely attached, despite the dangerous wave action on exposed rocky shores. The ability to clamp down also seals the shell edge against the rock surface, protecting them from desiccation during low tide, despite their being in full sunlight.
When true limpets are fully clamped down, it is impossible to remove them from the rock using brute force alone, and the limpet will allow itself to be destroyed rather than stop clinging to its rock. This survival strategy has led to the limpet being used as a metaphor for obstinacy or stubbornness.

[edit] Life habits


[edit] Feeding

Most limpets feed by grazing on algae which grows on the rock (or other surfaces) where they live. They scrape up films of algae with a radula, a ribbon-like tongue with rows of teeth. Limpets move by rippling the muscles of their foot in a wave-like motion.
In some parts of the world, certain smaller species of true limpet are specialized to live on seagrasses and graze on the microscopic algae which grow there. Other species live on, and graze directly on, the stipes (stalks) of brown algae (kelp).

[edit] Homing behaviour


Limpet shell



Limpets in the intertidal of Cornwall, England.



Common limpets in Pembrokeshire, Wales.


Some species of limpets return to the same spot on the rock known as a "home scar" just before the tide recedes.[1] In such species, the shape of their shell often grows to precisely match the contours of the rock surrounding the scar. This behaviour presumably allows them to form a better seal to the rock and may help protect from either predation or desiccation.
It is still unclear how limpets find their way back to the same spot each time, but it is thought that they follow pheromones in the mucus left as they move. Other species, notably Lottia gigantea seem to "garden" a patch of algae around their home scar [2]. They are one of the few invertebrates to exhibit territoriality and will aggressively push other organisms out of this patch by ramming with their shell, thereby allowing their patch of algae to grow for their own grazing. Also, where the limpets eat the algae off bare rocks, it creates places where other organisms can grow and thrive.

[edit] Predators and other risks

Limpets are preyed upon by a variety of organisms including starfish, shore-birds, fish, seals, and humans. Limpets exhibit a variety of defenses, such as fleeing or clamping their shells against the substratum. The defense response can be determined by the type of predator, which can often be detected chemically by the limpet.
Limpets can be long lived, with tagged specimens surviving for more than 10 years. If the limpet lives on bare rock, it grows at a slower rate but can live for up to 20 years.[citation needed]
Limpets found on exposed shores, which have fewer rock pools than sheltered shores and are thus in less frequent contact with water, have a greater risk of desiccation due to the effects of increased sunlight, water evaporation and the increased wind speed. To avoid drying out they will clamp to the rock they inhabit, minimizing water-loss from the rim around their base. As this occurs chemicals are released that promote the vertical growth of the limpet's shell.

[edit] Reproduction

Spawning occurs once a year, usually during winter, and is triggered by rough seas which disperse the eggs and sperm. Larvae are pelagic for a couple of weeks before settling onto a hard substrate.[1]

[edit] Human use

Larger limpet species are, or were historically, cooked and eaten in many different parts of the world, for example: in Hawaii, limpets (Cellana species) are commonly known as ‘opihi,[3] and are considered a delicacy and the meat sells for $30-40 a pound ( 454g).. In Portugal, limpets are known as lapas and are also considered to be a delicacy.

[Live Rock Ricky]

hey, i can get $30 a pound for them... time to put them on steroids!

[FireEater]

Some species of limpets return to the same spot on the rock known as a "home scar" just before the tide recedes.

The ones I collect locally here do this. Not much to look at as they seem to never move. Then once in a blue moon you will see their bright spot on the rock as they are off feeding. Then soon enough they are back at the same exact spot.

[zhenya]

hey, i can get $30 a pound for them... time to put them on steroids!

I doubt you'll get red cent for those limpets, these remain very small and could be found all over the tank, overflows. I even find them inside my skimmer rection chamber when I do maintanance.

The ones I collect locally here do this. Not much to look at as they seem to never move. Then once in a blue moon you will see their bright spot on the rock as they are off feeding. Then soon enough they are back at the same exact spot.

Mark, these are different species of limpets and their behavior probably much different than those of their kin. It seems that this snails reproduce well, too, I never introduced them intentionally but their numbers increased over the years tenfold.