Unknow Snail

[Brooks_McClary]

Hey,

I love nano reefs! You see stuff I can't imagine seeing in a larger tank.

While I was feeding a sun coral (nursing it back to health after a LFS rescue) I noticed something floating in the water. It looked like lttle eggs. Sure enough, when I went searching there was a never before seen (in my tank) gastropod pearched on a rock squirting out streams of eggs. Alll the fish, shrimp and corals ate like crazy. It was awesome to watch and the kids learned a lot.

A couple of questions...

1) It looked like a grey slug with an oval whirl patterned and lightly striped shell that was approximately 1/2 it's total length. The snail was about 1 1/4" long. The shell was almost completely flat with a slight curve to it and smooth. There was no hole in the shell. I do not believe it was a limpet. I observed it feeding on algae after it stopped broadcasting eggs. Anyone know what kind of critter it is?

2) Anyone know if I need 2 of these critters to make babies? Do they reproduce asexually? If so, I may have quite a few soon. There must have been several hundred eggs that escaped the hungry critters.

[SeanT]

Sounds like a stomatella snail.
Here are some pics of various types of stomatella snails.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showgallery.php?thumb=1&cat=500&si=stomatella&perpage=12&sort=1&stype=&ppuser=

[Brooks_McClary]

That's it!!!

Your description of the spawning behavior is exactly what I observed.

So... Are these good to have in your tank? Am I about to get 1000 new pets?

[vanmo92]

stometella sounds right

[Sugar Magnolia]

Stomatellas are excellent grazing snails that reproduce well in captivity. Their population largely depends on the amount of algae that's in the tank, but they will sometimes reproduce a bit too much, especially in the smaller tanks. Great for trading and selling.

Congrats on the find!

[Brooks_McClary]

I am constantly amazed at the biodiversity that grows out of our reef tanks. I keep finding new stuff every time I look at the tank. sponges, amphipods, isopods, briozoans, tunicates and oh so much more. This is a great hobby for an inquisitive mind.

Thanks for everyone's help IDing the snail. I have a happy addition that eats algae and makes great coral food as a byproduct.