Halfshell eggs galore

[xerx]

After its buddy went to halfshell heaven, my remaining grizzled veteran halfshell has started glueing little white eggs ( I guess they're eggs) all over every bit of ceramic, rock, and glass it covers.

At first I was hoping they were already little babies who has gotten fertilized and would just start growing, but nah, they just flake off after a couple weeks.

It's just a little freshwater tank with some generic plants in there.
Anybody got some thoughts about this? I'd love to have a bunch of baby halfshells zipping around eating green stuff in my tank!

[majolo]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what's a halfshell?

[xerx]

I call them halfshells. I buy them here in Taiwan, so I'm not exactly sure what their name is in English. But, they are basically like half a clam. The suck on to the glass, rock, and ceramic in my tank, eating gren algae off those things.
When they get old, they start falling off vertical surfaces where they are feeding. If they happen to fall off and float down onto their backs, they are doomed; no way to flip themselves over.

The little white things this halfshell is putting out look like teeny tiny halfshells but after they flake off, it still leaves a tiny white ring where they were.


I have no idea what my tank PH is, the temperature is 25C

[plecoperson]

Ah, like a limpet. Cool-do you have pictures?!?!?!

[xerx]

Originally Posted by plecoperson

Ah, like a limpet. Cool-do you have pictures?!?!?!

I'll take some tomorrow and try to post them...

[Mosaic]

I don't think the big limpets can reproduce successfully in FW. They need SW for the larvae to survive, and even then it can be a complicated process. But oh how I want one! You're lucky to have them.

[xerx]

Yes, it is indeed a limpet.

I checked it on the web, and learned lots about them.
Not only does it zip all over eating algae off rocks, but they are cool little creatures, and elegant organisms. The info also suggested that they make a little depression in a rock to hang out in during the day. Maybe I'll see if I can get a rock with a suitable hollowed out portion for it.

They have loads of them for sale at the pet stores here in Taiwan.



uuuhh.. the picture might be hard to make sense of. This is a picture of the limpet up against the glass, and you can see its reflection and a bit of it's cream colored foot in the reflection in the glass.

[zenkatydid]

that's neat!! i have teeny little white limpets in my tank, they're cute but don't do much for algae