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By Bob Goemans
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Lepas

Lepas anserifera

(Linnaeus, 1767)

Gooseneck Barnacles

Likely Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Temperate and tropical seas.

Size: 2 inches (4 cm)

Natural Environment: Generally found in clusters and attached to floating material and other hard-based floating substrate, including whales and live their lives attached to one spot.

Aquarium Suitability: A filter feeder and rarely seen in the trade, however, if living near the oceans, can possibly be collected from washed up debris on the beach.

Even though a harmless species, its basically unsuitable for average home aquariums due to its need for a constant supply of plankton and turbulent water movement to survive, which would result in an extremely high nutrient level, very possibly leading to unwanted algae problems.

Best suited to a 'species' system designed with major filtration equipment so as to maintain water quality!

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Crustacea

Class: Maxillopoda

Subclass: Thecostraca

Infraclass: Cirripedia (Curl-footed)

Superorder: Thoracica

Order: Pedunculata

Suborder: Lepadomorpha

Family: Lepadidae

FYI: Called a goose barnacle because its shape resembles that of a goose.

 Lepas anserifera (Gooseneck Barnacles)
Photo © Shutterstock.com
 Lepas anserifera (Gooseneck Barnacles)
Photo © seasky.org
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