Avoiding Snail Eggs

clatong

clatong

Member
My 36 gallon tank has been up and running for about 6 months now. I started with a few Trochus snails, in addition to some Nassarius snails.

About a month ago I ordered some Nerite snails from this site, as algae had started to spread to the point where I felt I could use some more snails, and I was interested in a new look. I like the look of the snails, and they seem to be healthy and doing a good job of cleaning algae for me. My complaint is that they have started to lay eggs all over my live rock (determined it to be their work based on a few Google searches).

Two things bother me about this. First, I've had many freshwater setups before, and snails inevitably take over the tanks if I don't continuously remove the new generations. I want to avoid that with this tank! I've read mixed opinions on whether or not the Nerite babies will survive, but want to avoid having hundreds, or even dozens, of them in my tank.

Second, they are not very visually appealing to me, and turn out to be incredibly hard to remove.

Because of this, I am thinking I'll relocate my Nerite snails to one of the local fish stories.

Should I just stick to Trochus snails? I've heard bad things about bumblebee snails/whelks, and don't think I have a need for a turbo. I've also read that Cereth snails can reproduce a little easier than others, and as mentioned above, want to avoid that. Any opinions/advice?
 
geridoc

geridoc

Well-Known Member
Patience, grasshopper! If the snail eggs do hatch successfully (unlikely) and the fry grow to adult size (very unlikely) they will consume all of the available nutrient, and die off. Marine tanks have a way of balancing themselves out. Instead of worrying about the snails, worry about the algae - why is it growing? Too much phosphate? Nitrate? Overfeeding? Deal with the underlying problem and snail overpopulation won't be a concern.
 
clatong

clatong

Member
Good to know that they probably won't survive and overpopulate the tank like freshwater snails do!

I'm still concerned about the eggs they are leaving everywhere. From what I've read, the eggs will crack open when they hatch, and then stay on the rocks for a long time... some posts said years, or until other algae/coralline covers it up. I don't want my tank looking like it has chicken-pox, which is kind of what's happening now.

I don't feel like I have an algae problem, at least not at the moment. I started with just a couple snails, but once they started to fall behind (mostly in the film algae on the glass, but there is a little dark green and red fuzzy algae on some of the rocks closest to the light) I thought I would add some more.

I have not tested for phosphates, but my ammonia/nitrate/nitrates have all been consistently at zero since the cycle started.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by clatong http:///t/397866/avoiding-snail-eggs#post_3548116
Good to know that they probably won't survive and overpopulate the tank like freshwater snails do!

I'm still concerned about the eggs they are leaving everywhere. From what I've read, the eggs will crack open when they hatch, and then stay on the rocks for a long time... some posts said years, or until other algae/coralline covers it up. I don't want my tank looking like it has chicken-pox, which is kind of what's happening now.

I don't feel like I have an algae problem, at least not at the moment. I started with just a couple snails, but once they started to fall behind (mostly in the film algae on the glass, but there is a little dark green and red fuzzy algae on some of the rocks closest to the light) I thought I would add some more.

I have not tested for phosphates, but my ammonia/nitrate/nitrates have all been consistently at zero since the cycle started.

Hi,

Saltwater tanks are a whole world apart from a freshwater tank. I got some really good advice from a dear friend years ago when I first started out... "If you don't like the way your tank looks, or there is something growing you don't like, wait a week, it will go away. Saltwater tanks are forever changing on their own "

Saltwater tanks do not require the micro managing a freshwater tank does. It's as bad as folks who watch over their snails to up-right them if they fall over. Like GeriDoc tried to explain, they balance themselves out. You are not going to control what a rock looks like, where a fish or anemone decides it's home will be in the tank. It's their world, watch and learn. Worrying that the rock looks speckled like chicken pox is kind of over the top, worry all for nothing thing I can think of to concern yourself with.

No nuisance algae can grow without phosphates and nitrates. Ammonia is no longer a concern, unless the fish appear stressed it isn't something you need to test all the time. In fact after the first cycle my ammonia test kit was left sitting on the shelf growing old. Keep up on water changes and do the phosphate tests, that will go a long way for keeping the tank and it's inhabitants healthy.
 
clatong

clatong

Member
Thank you for your advice! I researched this hobby off and on for a couple years before starting, but am constantly learning now things.

I wasn't able to take a good picture, but grabbed this one from a Google search, which looks exactly the way my rock is looking. In the 3+ weeks I've had these 7 Nerite snails, I have roughly 60 eggs / egg sacs.



Do you think it's a fair expectation that my rocks won't all look like this eventually? I understand this wouldn't bother some people, but for some reason it does really strike me as ugly!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by clatong http:///t/397866/avoiding-snail-eggs#post_3548123
Thank you for your advice! I researched this hobby off and on for a couple years before starting, but am constantly learning now things.

I wasn't able to take a good picture, but grabbed this one from a Google search, which looks exactly the way my rock is looking. In the 3+ weeks I've had these 7 Nerite snails, I have roughly 60 eggs / egg sacs.



Do you think it's a fair expectation that my rocks won't all look like this eventually? I understand this wouldn't bother some people, but for some reason it does really strike me as ugly!

Hi,

Everything always changes in a saltwater tank, it's kind of why we love them. Yes, some things look ugly, I had a sand sifter who liked to pile sand all in one corner of the tank and then borrow in a rock he covered to hide. it made the entire tank look off, but it was his world and his home, that's the way he liked it, and no matter how many times I smoothed the sand to where it should go...he would re-arrange it.

As long as it's a healthy tank...and baby snails is a really good sign... don't sweat the small stuff. I had baby nerite snails hatch, they were awesome, but they died off and left the right number to care for the tank and algae that crops up. When I had a freshwater tank, snails over powered everything, it was like a plague and the algae went crazy... they didn't clean it up, they were just part of the problem.

It's very different from a SW tank. The algae eaters balance out, you will only have enough to do the job. In a SW tank the CUC (clean up crew of snails and such) really do their job. If there is not enough food they die off. That goes for bristle worms too... if there is an over feeding the bristle worm population bursts. Keep an eye on phosphates and nitrates, do your water changes and don't overfeed. Then you won't have the kind of worries that nuisance algae and the over population of what CUC critters bring.

As for how the rock looks with egg sacks... ignore it, it will all crust over and become part of the rock, and then coralline (purple crusty algae) will appear and cover it all up. Every time you look at your tank, you will see something different, it's never boring and forever changing. As long as it isn't changing in a bad direction, leave it be and don't fret. My grandkids come to my house, and right to the tank they go and start asking questions on stuff they see different, even friends. It's a great way to share the hobby with others who don't know anything about it. Imagine explaining that the bumps on the rocks are snail eggs, the only response I ever got was "Cool, Will they hatch!!!??? I never got a eeewww it's so ugly response.
 
clatong

clatong

Member
That is what I have now! Since March, I've had two Erectus. I also have two benggai cardinals, two peppermint shrimp, and the snails mentioned above.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by clatong http:///t/397866/avoiding-snail-eggs#post_3548152
That is what I have now! Since March, I've had two Erectus. I also have two benggai cardinals, two peppermint shrimp, and the snails mentioned above.

LOL...and you're bothered by snail eggs??? Nobody but you would even notice them, the seahorses steal the show every time. Post some pictures of those horses!
 
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