Even better - they're hatching!

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I was walking along the beach a few months ago and came across this strange looking "thing" on the sand. At first I wasn't sure if it were plastic (manmade) or natural (something from the ocean) but when I realized it was some sort of plant/creature I was fascinated and obsessed with finding out what it was. I brought it home and started searching the web. It's pretty hard to find out what something is when you have no clue what words to enter in the search engine, but after a few hours I finally got it! After reading more about it I got more and more amazed by it. I dusted off the 14 gallon biocube in my basement, put in some sand and saltwater (from my other tanks) and put the "thing" in there, along with some rocks I had picked up on the shore.
Anyone know what this is? Or maybe EVERYONE knows and I'm the only one who didn't know? Anyway, it was very educational to me.... I just love nature. :)
Sue
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Oh good..... now I don't feel so bad that I didn't know what it was. Is it alive? Yes and no. It contains life. :)
Sue
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
looks like a chopped up bannana or one of those snakes you get at walmart that twist all over if you hold them by the tail :p
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Oh alright...... far be it from me to be the cause of a sleepy Meowzer. :)
Whelk egg casing! A whelk pooped this out and each disk contains fluid with eggs in it!
Sue
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
"Mating and egg laying occur during the spring and fall migration. Internally fertilized eggs are surrounded by a transparent mass of albumen, a gel-like material, and are laid in protective flat, rounded egg capsules joined to form a paper-like chain of egg cases, commonly called a "Mermaid's Necklace". On average each capsule contains 0-99 eggs, with most strings having 40-160 capsules. After laying their egg cases, female knobbed whelk will bury one end of the egg case into the substrate, thus providing an anchor for the developing fertilized eggs and preventing the string of egg cases from washing ashore where it would dehydrate. Fertilized eggs emerge as juvenile knobbed whelks approximately 4 mm in length."
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Never expected it to happen (even though I was secretly hoping) but these things are actually hatching! I'm seeing little tiny conches/whelks crawling around the tank now! I counted at least 25 yesterday but since they are barely bigger than a piece of sand (and the same color) who knows how many there really are in there! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I guess I better go research what I should be feeding them. Any ideas what baby whelk eat? This is so exciting.... I love "baby" anything. :)
Sue
 

flower

Well-Known Member

I Googled them, I keep getting mixed responses. One site said they are bad and all welks are meat eaters..
something about drilling a hole in other snails shells
 

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I believe they are bad....I had thrown this mysterious "thing" in a quickly set up biocube and that's where they will stay, all by themselves. I, too, have read that whelks are meat eaters and killers, but on the other hand, don't people buy and keep conches in their tanks? I'm sure there are several different types of conches so I need to pin down what kind these are.
I have tried taking photos of these guys but it's really hard since they are SO tiny. I'll have to put a few on a dark sheet of paper or something.
Everyone is getting a baby conch for Christmas this year! :)
Sue
 
Top