# Removing Freshwater Limpet



## gtu2004

i dont think assassin snails are even interested in them at all. these are a big pain to remove. I have to live with them. I hate them.


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## 10gallonplanted

I think this happens to all my new tanks I set up, the population of limpets explodes then they're gone in two months. So I wouldnt worry.


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## shrimpnmoss

I hate dem....I squish dem...


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## Chrisinator

I've been squishing a lot of the bigger ones hoping that the shrimp would munch on them.


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## Kitty_Kitsch

Where do the limpets come from? I haven't had any... I imagine they look like tiny keyhole limpets?


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## Chrisinator

I think most come hitchhiked from plants from other tanks.


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## mordalphus

They'll go away, they breed prolifically for a month then disappear, they dont appreciate the conditions we keep shrimp in


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## RandomMan

Limpets and Copepods have been thriving in my shrimp tank despite low temps and soft water. They went (mostly) away in one of my other tanks after adding a few nerites. My guess is the neuritis out compete them for food.


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## GDP

If youre talking about those little white things that kinda spring around in a jerky motions then yeah I hate those things.


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## gtu2004

GDP said:


> If youre talking about those little white things that kinda spring around in a jerky motions then yeah I hate those things.


no, those are not limpets. limpets stick on the glass. they're almost flat with hard shell. i rmb reading they're not a type of snails, but they're sort of similar, just a lot harder to remove.


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## Chrisinator

I'm not sure if they feed on algae because I have a surplus of those. I've been thinking about adding 3 Otos in my invert tank and was wondering if they'd eat them (or at least out compete them for food).


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## piffy

GDP said:


> If youre talking about those little white things that kinda spring around in a jerky motions then yeah I hate those things.


I might have those things too. Do they kind of look like round shrimp that skuttle along the bottom?

I found two huge ones under my moss yesterday - one was mounted on top of the other. I was so grossed out, I tried to fish them out but they were just too fast for me.


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## Chrisinator

They look more like half of a clam shell crawling along the glass.


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## piffy

Oh yeah - I know. I have a few limpets stuck to my glass.

But I also have these weird little bugs I can't identify that crawl around on my substrate and in my moss. They're a little unnerving, partly due to the fact I have no idea what they are.


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## mordalphus

Probably seed shrimp or copepods, nothing to worry about


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## ADA

Please, if anyone has info on how to completely be rid of these that would be amazing!

Crushing them when you see them is not an option, as there are too many tiny babies that are not even visible yet. This is just a constant chore, which I have been doing every single day for months. They're still everywhere.

They're not "harmless" either, as I have read many ppl say. They're ugly, and a nuisance, which is a harm to the aesthetics of my aquarium. 

I have high grade CRS, so most poisons would probably be out of the question, and any kind of predator would likely eat my shrimp before getting started on the limpets.

Not leaving myself many options, huh? 

Any ideas?

Thanks!


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## kurosuto

i only see a SINGLE limpet in my 1 month old tank. Should I kill it? I feel bad for killing things..


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## wicca27

i love limpets wish i had them again its a personal thing weather to keep them or get rid of them


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## ADA

wicca27 said:


> i love limpets wish i had them again its a personal thing weather to keep them or get rid of them


I bet you didn't have a lot of them though.. they are all over the glass in my tank.

And when you keep rare and delicate miniature plants, the last thing you want to see are these little things all over the leaves


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## wicca27

they just eat algae kept my tank clean till my oebt ate them all lol


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## splur

stupid things, I just squish them with my finger. Sometimes I go on a limpet killing frenzy, an hour later there's just as many on the glass.


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## DesmondTheMoonBear

lol, I welcome the little things. They seem to control themselves though, since I've seen a lot of empty limpet shells lately and only a few babies.


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## james0816

I actually like(d) Limpets as well. Some how I managed to kill them off. Not sure if it was CO2 or something else. The tank I had them in has Otos, Briggs and shrimp. They even rasped on any GSA that formed.


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## Chrisinator

Bump. Anybody else have any ideas?


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## trueblu8

I know it's an old thread but I thought I'd give it another bump. This is a big issue for shrimp keepers. And I agree with ADA, I think they are a nuisance and an eyesore. The only thing I can think of is taking your shrimp out for a while and treating your whole tank. Anything that is used to kill snails should do.


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## trueblu8

wicca27 said:


> they just eat algae kept my tank clean till my oebt ate them all lol


 Almost sounds too good to be true. Would OEBT really eat them?


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## CookieM

RandomMan said:


> Limpets and Copepods have been thriving in my shrimp tank despite low temps and soft water. They went (mostly) away in one of my other tanks after adding a few nerites. My guess is the neuritis out compete them for food.


Yeah Nerite are awesome, they clean everything from poop, dead plants, algae, and even food. Every time I drop in Hikari Shrimp pellet, Nerite always go for it and pushes all the shrimps away. So I have to spread out the pellets.


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## wicca27

my oebt eat the limpets and baby rams horn snails. ive heard they like the extra protein so im guessing that is why they eat them and the crs dont. my propinqua also eat snails. im betting an assassin snail would eat limpets also


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## trueblu8

I'll try the OEBT's first. If that doesn't work I'll try the nerites or the assassins. 
I will report back here with the results.


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## rodcuda

Assassin snails will wipe them out. Just a couple will do it.


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## ADA

rodcuda said:


> Assassin snails will wipe them out. Just a couple will do it.


Seriously?? I had no idea.

How well do they do in shipping? Anybody want to sell me a few?


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## Soothing Shrimp

Problem is, after the snails are gone, some people have had probs with them taking down shrimp. 

Besides, aren't limpets too small for assassins?


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## rodcuda

I know there are very rare cases of an assassin taking a shrimp. But most of those stories are actually assassins eating dead or dying shimp. I added a couple young assassins to a tank with a limpet issue and they took care of them quickly. If they are valuable shrimp, using young small assassins is an extra safeguard. 

They ship real easy, just is a wet paper towel. I don't really want to let any go, but I am sure you can find some. If not maybe I can help.


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## trueblu8

ADA said:


> Anybody want to sell me a few?


If you can't find them at your lfs you can usually get them on ebay or aquabid 5 for $20 shipped.


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## daylily

I've been trying to figure out if what I have in my 5 gal Fluval Betta tank are limpets. They are so small - about the size of an Arial 14 pt. period in typeface reference. I don't know if they are really small snails, or they are limpets. In the morning, they are all over the glass, and I pick out at least 15 each morning, and many more during the day as I see them. The betta seems to have no interest in them. I tried dosing Excel every other day but that didn't seem to slow them down at all.

So, how small are baby pond snails compared to baby limpets? 

In non printer terms - you might be able to fit three of my "specks" on an average sesame seed - maybe even five.


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## wicca27

limpets look like a clear upside down bowl with a spot in the middle


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## trueblu8




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## daylily

whatever I have are way to small to see detail like those videos have. They are tiny - like specks of pepper.


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## trueblu8

You might want to consult this thread.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=40061


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## trueblu8

rodcuda said:


> Assassin snails will wipe them out. Just a couple will do it.





Soothing Shrimp said:


> Aren't limpets too small for assassins?


Just got this response from one of the assassin snail sellers regarding whether they will eat limpets or not.

"These will not eat fresh water limpets."

"We did some research and most of them states that assassin snails does not eat fresh water limpets. Also from experience our assassin snails never eat freshwater limpets. You are right about limpets being too small for assassin snail to consume. We are however is unsure whether or not baby assassin snails will munch on freshwater limpets."

So this question is for rodcuda. Is it only the baby assassin snails that will eat the limpets?


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## trueblu8

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Problem is, after the snails are gone, some people have had probs with them taking down shrimp.





rodcuda said:


> I know there are very rare cases of an assassin taking a shrimp. But most of those stories are actually assassins eating dead or dying shimp. I added a couple young assassins to a tank with a limpet issue and they took care of them quickly. If they are valuable shrimp, use young small assassins as an extra safeguard.


And here's a link to a thread that warns about the dangers of adding assassin snails to a tank with shrimp in it. 
They will eat them just as Soothing Shrimp has said.
I'm not willing to lose any shrimp just to get rid of some limpets.
I will try the oebt or nerite method first.
And if those don't work then maybe some baby assassins as a last resort.


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## wicca27

i wish i could get some limpets again but they are so hard to catch without hurting or killing. if any one does manage to get them let me know might do a plant trade if you find some on plants you have?


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## trueblu8

I just happen to have a container with some plants and limpets in it for you.
Just sent you an email.


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## trueblu8

Okay I just got word from another reliable source that baby assassin snails will indeed rid your tank of fresh water limpets. 
Now I just have to find a seller that has them.


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## abc

trueblu8 said:


> Fresh Water Limpet - YouTube
> Freshwater Limpet - YouTube


what are the white dots that are smaller and dancing around the large limpet in the video? :help:


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## trueblu8

Looks like debris or bubbles getting pushed around by the water flow from the filter.


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## trueblu8

rodcuda said:


> Assassin snails will wipe them out. Just a couple will do it.


Just wanted to do an update guys. A while back I did finally get my hands on some baby assassin snails from a real cool guy in Utah. Thanks Cody. And as it turns out rodcuda was right. They went to town on those limpets. In fact I can't find any more limpets now and am wondering what I am going to give the little guys to eat. Hopefully they don't go to town on my shrimp. :icon_eek: They are very cool looking as well. I will post a video later when I have some time. So thanks rodcuda, and sorry I doubted you.


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## ADA

So, adults wont eat them at all then?


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## trueblu8

They may or may not. Although I was given some adults, I didn't put them in the tanks where I had the limpets. I put them in some other tanks where I just had regular pest snails. I guess I will leave that experiment up to you.:wink:


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## ADA

I was just give two adults, so experiment commenced! haha.


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## trueblu8

Excellent.


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## trueblu8

Videos as promised.

http://youtu.be/A10XOVvty_Q

http://youtu.be/lHALLKzdb2o

http://youtu.be/3pMlSO_8O-o


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## ADA

Adult Assassins. Won't eat limpets. Growl... 

Need babies. Nerites get rid of them?


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## trueblu8

I'll see if I can hook you up with the guy that I got my baby assassins from. Sent you a pm.


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## Aymie

Cory seem to eat limpets. I say this because I had a limpet explosion in my tank after removing the cory. Nothing else new in many months. 

Assassin snails are prolific breeders. I discovered this when I bought three to kill off a large pond snail problem. Within a month, I had over 100 baby assassins, which is why the Cory got moved. They cleaned up the assassin snail infestation that replaced the pond snail infestation.


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## schnebbles

I had these appear in my 5 gl betta tank too. They look kind of ugly but I guess they aren't hurting anything.


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## shrimpNewbie

My bad old thread


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## shrimpNewbie

Old thread pointless post


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