eksblenny Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I think I buy chitons every few months from John. I'm trying to build a vast chiton army in my tank since they seem most effective at getting rid of everything. The problem is that in my experience they are notoriously poor shippers. You can only order 8 max at a time, and in my batch of 10+ chiton orders I usually have about 50% mortality rate. I still order them because John has cornered the market on chitons. Because they require expedited shipping, these are the most expensive cleanup crew items I have in my tank (probably more expensive than my fighting conchs). Well I want to say John congratulations on your last shipping attempt. For the first time ever I got a 0% mortality rate. All 8 chitons are busy moseying along my rockwork. 4 Quote Link to comment
johnmaloney Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Thanks for the update. 1 Quote Link to comment
Boggers Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 The are all over my sump. I was fortunate to get in as hitchhickers. Quote Link to comment
gmanreefer Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 FUZZY CHITONS! I have heard they eat bryopsis. Anyone have experience with this? Quote Link to comment
eksblenny Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 The ones that John sells are not very small. The smallest ones I have are almost 1" and the largest ones I have are as big as my fighting conchs. I have never had bryopsis but they mowed down huge areas of red turf algae, hair algae, diatoms, and weird brown fuzzy algae. They make my clam's shell look brand new lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
WRX Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Is there a gallons per chiton recommendation? Quote Link to comment
Sully375 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Well John is about to get an order from me ass soon as I get back from vacation. Quote Link to comment
eksblenny Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 I don't know about maximum amount of chitons but they move so slowly and work so diligently in small patches that I need a bunch of them to cover all my rock. Most of the time they stay isolated on my rock structures since they do not go on the sand at all (unless they die). I hate it when my other snails like to just eat algae on the glass that I can already clean myself with a magnet cleaner. You don't want to place chitons on the glass (i.e. the back wall) because I notice they will eventually climb up out of the water and die. Once in a while a chiton does somehow hitchhike onto a conch's shell and gets stuck sand surfing on the shell for days. You can tell which conch because his shell is super white and clean lol. Quote Link to comment
johnmaloney Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Chitons are good for trouble spots and a few per tank, but because they aren't very mobile your CUC should have other cleaners to balance it out . Quote Link to comment
eksblenny Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 These chitons have been in my tank for at least 6 months. Notice how they lose their fuzziness and how bare the rockwork is. My tang loves to eat the stuff growing on the chitons. 2 Quote Link to comment
Anden Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Sad we cant get em in Denmark. Quote Link to comment
reefhound Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 nice... mine didn't live thru the shipping sux ass Quote Link to comment
eksblenny Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Yeah if you factor in how many don't survive from shipping, chitons are pricier than you think. Quote Link to comment
reefhound Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 John did a refund, which was great, but I would have rather had the chitons.. I would have gladly paid for the insulated box and cold pac if it were an add on/ option I fully understand the cost v savings.. but can't help but wonder if it makes a difference.. especially shipping from FL to CA Quote Link to comment
Dishy Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 I wish we had these in the UK 😞 Quote Link to comment
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