What is this creature?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

It is in a closed breeder box with mystery snail eggs and baby mystery snails. I think it is a mystery “slug”. Some of these showed up when my first egg clutch was ready to hatch, before the actual snails hatched. It moves and it is suctioned  to the plastic. There are several in the breeder box and they showed up this morning. One or two baby snails hatched prior.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Darth Mollusk]

Hm. The video isn't working for me for some reason. If you post a photo, I will take a look though. (I've got a breeder box full of mystery snails now, too--hope yours are okay!)

[HenryC]

they're called limpets, are actually micro snails. If I remember correctly they're harmless, got a ton of these in my shrimp tank

https://www.google.com/search?q=aquarium+limpets&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi-1aj66r74AhWhIjQIHSmsC7QQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=aquarium+limpets&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBggAEB4QCDIGCAAQHhAIOgQIIxAnOgQIABBDUN4EWKkcYOccaAJwAHgAgAGWAYgBvg-SAQQ1LjEzmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=duCxYr7CJqHF0PEPqdiuoAs&rlz=1C1CHBF_enMX842MX842

Edited June 21, 2022 by HenryC

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Hmm.. @DarthMollusk

I will try to relink  vid which shows how it moves and here’s a photo too. 
 

 

On 6/21/2022 at 11:17 AM, HenryC said:

they're called limpets, are actually micro snails.

Do they have shells? Too small for me to see. Perhaps the shells are clear? 
 

I just left ‘em in there to do what they wanna do. I wonder if the shell will color up once they eat the calcium chips I have in there.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[HenryC]

On 6/21/2022 at 8:19 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Hmm.. 

I will try to delink vid which shows how it moves and here’s a photo too. 
 

 

Do they have shells? Too small for me to see. Perhaps the shells are clear? 
 

I just left ‘em in there to do what they wanna do. I wonder if the shell will color up once they eat the calcium chips I have in there.

they're transparent, and very small, they don't get too big. Mine rarely reach sesame seed size. Just like their bigger bros, they will help you eat algae off the glass!

Edited June 21, 2022 by HenryC

[Darth Mollusk]

Thanks! I agree with @HenryC ; it looks like a limpet. Some people find them beneficial. Anything you do to get rid of them (other than cleaning) would hurt the babies, I expect 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/21/2022 at 11:24 AM, DarthMollusk said:

Anything you do to get rid of them (other than cleaning) would hurt the babies, I expect 

Na, I embrace the critters.  Let's see what they do. 🙂  They're probably munching on the baby snail food and having a good time.

On 6/21/2022 at 11:13 AM, DarthMollusk said:

(I've got a breeder box full of mystery snails now, too--hope yours are okay!)

That's cool @DarthMollusk. What color are yours?  I started a snail hatching journal if it interests you.

[Darth Mollusk]

I embrace the critters too; makes life simpler and more interesting.

Mine are only a few days old and still look like little speckled amber seeds 😆. They've all got the same horn-dog blue dad, and half are from a magenta the other half from a jade mom.

Here they are, swarming zucchini 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, DarthMollusk said:

I embrace the critters too; makes life simpler and more interesting.

Mine are only a few days old and still look like little speckled amber seeds 😆. They've all got the same horn-dog blue dad, and half are from a magenta the other half from a jade mom.

Here they are, swarming zucchini

Haha, cute little guys.  Would you believe I only have 1 mystery snail?  But a mystery snail can get impregnated at the pet store or whatnot and hold onto the eggs for months!  And sure enough, she laid eggs 4 times for me.  

You can drop a cuttlebone in there or some crab cuisine.  Either contains calcium and it's great for shell development.

Your are a lot bigger than the ones from my first clutch, which was a tiny, marble-sized clutch. I needed a magnifying glass to see them for a bit. It's been about 2 weeks now and they are a little bigger than peppercorns.

[Darth Mollusk]

Wow! That is a productive single snail!

I had to separate the male bc he's been so persistent he's wearing down shells. But they'll be laying fertile eggs for a while. Luckily my local fish store wants them 🥳 (wish I could keep them all, but alas)

 I've got wonder shell in the tank and I used to make my own snello. But more often these days I usually mix up repashy with some extra calcium carbonate powder. Those little babies cruise for the veggies like nothing else! Which is great bc it's the easiest to clean!

Everyone in the tanks loves Crab Cuisine 😆 (and none of them are crabs). The shrimp have gotten very good at darting in, stealing some, and darting away again. The adult snails will cradle one in their bodies when they find it to call dibs now. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/21/2022 at 12:12 PM, DarthMollusk said:

The adult snails will cradle one in their bodies when they find it to call dibs now

Hahaha I love that. Sometime my big snail carries things. Here she is carrying her carrot

[Darth Mollusk]

Awwwwwwwwww it's like a veggie teddy bear 🥺😆