The Fuzzy Chiton begins eating at twilight and will consume algae throughout the night into the early dawn, and will spend most of its time on the rocks and glass in your aquarium. The Fuzzy Chiton is known to stay in one spot until all the algae in the spot is removed. The Fuzzy Chiton gets its name from the moss like algae that is usually growing on its back. This serves as camouflage for the Chiton, who will live in these patches and "farm" the area, moving in circles to keep a steady rotation of algae. Fuzzy Chitons do not eat the camo off of other Fuzzy Chitons. The algae is unlikely to spread in your tank, but you can remove it from the chiton's back if you would like. Blue leg crabs and many of the snails we sell will remove the algae from the back of the Chiton even if you wanted to keep it. In the aquarium, it will seek out food more often than in nature, since it is unlikely to be able to successfully farm an area, especially in a tank with our other reef cleaning critters. Fuzzy Chitons are strong. When they attach to something they can sometimes be hard to remove. You must be careful when trying to move them, as it is possible to harm the Chiton if you are too rough. For best results, splash the Chiton with water they are acclimated too, and then nudge them with a credit card, (anything similarly shaped would also work), by pushing lightly against them while holding the credit card perpendicular to the surface the Chiton is attached too. Remember, you are not trying to use the card as a spatula, you are nudging their side, hoping to move them sideways. In any case, try not to move them if you can. Chitons have difficulty righting themselves. It is unlikely they will get flipped once they get used to the aquarium, but you should stick them to something when you introduce them to their new home. To do this, place the Chtion up against the glass of your tank or similar surface, and apply light pressure to their back until they stick. Even though Chitons are easily cared for and long lived, (some species live up to 20 years in the wild), they prefer water with no ammonia, no nitrites, and low levels of nitrate. They range from 1''-3''. Most of the fuzzy Chitons we send are between one and two inches. We prefer to send the smaller Chitons because they have higher survivability in shipping than larger ones. ****These primitive snails are living fossils, and make an excellent addition to the diversity of the reef tank. We are proud to be the first online retailer of the Fuzzy Chiton, and hope you will enjoy them as much as we do. However, you should be aware that Chitons are extremely delicate shippers, and should only be sent via Express Mail with guaranteed delivery the next day. To check if Express Mail is overnight to your location click here. ****
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