Nassarius snail eggs?

littlefish72 · #1 01/01/2008, 06:42 PM

Subject says it all. Something has been laying eggs in my aquarium and I don't think it is the clowns, hermits, or turbos. I'm pretty sure it's the nassarius. Any chances of survival?

Daniel

kj5432 · #2 01/01/2008, 07:18 PM

I have the same thing on my glass. I have no idea what it is but I will say this. I do have quite a few nassarius snails in my tank. If you find out what it is for sure, please send me an email or pm.

MYDRAAL · #3 01/01/2008, 07:18 PM

I'm coming along for the ride on this one because mine do the same thing but disappear after a few days probably from predators. Maybe carefully scrape eggs off glass and hold in sump or fuge. It would be nice to see some of these babies

MYDRAAL · #4 01/01/2008, 07:22 PM

I know it's my Nas. because I've watched them lay the eggs. Looks just like your picture. They lay the eggs an inch or two above the sand on the glass.

01saleen · #5 01/01/2008, 07:38 PM

mine do the same, but they never hatch?

littlefish72 · #6 01/01/2008, 11:00 PM

Well I'll update you guys if start seeing baby nassarius crawling around.......I just wonder if the larva is pelagic or if they just crawl right out of the egg.....I'll have to check my old invert zoology notes

kydsexy · #7 01/02/2008, 12:23 AM

IME, they need their own tank, something small and nutrient rich water. try to replicate ideal conditions in a fw planted tank. minimize flow so that the water isn't still at the eggs but isn't blowing over them. develop as gentle a flow as possible. any mini pump in a 2.5 gallon works well. my problem has always been getting them to go through metamorphosis. and always remember, in nature, they have no walls to lay eggs on. so what do they use? macroalgaes!!! if you do a macroalgae planted tank, with many different species of plant, maybe you'll have success.

i smell a new experiment! haha. best of luck to all

kydsexy · #8 01/02/2008, 12:34 AM

additional info:

make sure they are nassarius vibex

also make sure that you check the temperature of the water that they are collected from. not your normal reef tank water. they're found in the low to mid 70's. atlantic carribean

greenbean36191 · #9 01/02/2008, 10:01 AM

I suspect this is a Pacific species, not N. vibex or any other Atlantic cousin.

The larvae are planktonic and feed on phytoplankton. If you want to raise them you'll need to do it in a separate tank since the larvae will be planktonic for a month or two and won't last in a reef.

tkeracer619 · #10 01/02/2008, 10:17 AM

As long as its not Ilyanassa obsoleta

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php

kenwendyb · #11 01/02/2008, 10:55 PM

We have them in our tank and they are all over in the sand bed. When they get about 1mm they seem to start moving around the tank more. Probably have a couple hundred in tank.

kc9dre · #12 01/03/2008, 01:16 AM

Just like in another post in the invert area, I had noticed this several times in my tank and have even seen small things swimming in near the bottom about 1 to 2 mm long or so. And have even found a really small nass shell tonight that was about 2mm long. I have 2 damsels and around 15 hermits and a peppermint shrimp. So we will see how these guys do if at all. I do have a 2.5 gal tank that I can redo to keep them in if I need to.

greenbean36191 · #13 01/03/2008, 08:49 AM

There are numerous small snails that do well in reef tanks and at only a few mm long it would be nearly impossible to distinguish between species without looking under a microscope and even then it would be difficult. It is possible, but extremely unlikely that Nassarius larvae would survive to settlement in a reef tank. More than likely the small snails you're seeing are adult rissoids.