Snail babies...Question??

fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
I'm hoping either Kip or Bang will respond to this:
Its been a while since I posted anything, luckily (and with hard work) both my tanks have been doing extremely well. About a month ago I noticed little snails on the glass of my tank, coming out of the sand later in the afternoon/early evening time.
Now, every day I watch the little snails come up out of the sand, and they seem to growing at a nice pace. I believe they are nassarius, as they are now large enough to identify. Here's my question.....
At last count there are over 100 of them. I have also noticed the adults (the big ones) laying more eggs just under the sand level on the glass. Is there such a thing as a snail infestation or should I just enjoy my little snail ranch?
The tank is stocked with fish and crabs...I'm not sure how these snails have made it this far....but its clear to me that there is no natural preadatorial impediment to their growth and reproduction.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I doubt they are Nassarius sp. although anything is possible. Can you describe the egg mass?
The natural factor limiting population is going to be food. If there's a limit on food then you'll notice fewer and fewer of the babies growing up to be adults.
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
I identify them as nassarius for two reasons: 1) I have only added two kinds of snails to the tank, nassarius and astrea, and 2) the shell is elongated like an adult nassairus, not a flatter spiral like the astrea, and they have they move faster and have the longer "sucker trunk" like the nassarius. They are now about 1/8"- 1/4" in length...and look like little versions of the nassarius I put in there over a year ago.
The egg masses I have seen are laid against the glass just under the level of the sand. They appear as evenly spaced rows of white dots, in an oval shaped area, containing 50-100 eggs. I was also fairly certain they were nassiarius, becuase I think I caught one in the act of laying the eggs (but never having seen it before I cant be sure)
So there is no harm in letting them run their course? They wont strip anything out of the system that need to be in there?
I'm thinking of transplanting some to my other tank when they are big enough.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
The egg masses do not sound like Nassarius to me. Perhaps a hitchhiking snail of some type? You'll know for sure when they get bigger.
How certain are you of the Id on your adult Nassarius?
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
Well, I'm not so sure now that you ask the question.
I purchased them as nassairus snails from the LFS (my lfs is way above average, but certainly not without flaws). They look like the nassarius I have read about. They seem to concetrate more on the sand bed, as I understand nassarius do.
Is there a "poser" nassarius snail with the same shaped shell I should be aware of? Is the shell the best way to identify them? If not, what should I look for as an identifier?
I suppose I should also say that I have no idea if the egg masses I described are what has produced the snails I am seeing. I also have a underground, segmented-shelled unidentified mollusk that makes a lap of my aquarium glass about once every three days. He is one of god knows how many things living in my sand bed.
I know there is no way for me to capture an image of the egg masess...I can try and get the snails tonight on their daily migration out of the sand.
 
jon-paul

jon-paul

Member
Yes I have had a very simialr experience. I have had my tank for almsot two years now. These snails come out only at night and look like the coral eating snail (I forget the name). Althoguh my corals are all still there. There is a ridiculous amount of snails in my tank although. If I wake up in the middle of the night when its pitch black the entire front glass is covered. Literally along with all of the rocks. I can't see it being a bad thing. But none of these snails has ever gotten big enough to be considered an adult. I can honestly say there is over 1500 of these suckers in my tank.
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
Ok I got some pics yesterday. I read in an older thread that Nassarius is a type of whelk. If so, how do you tell the difference?
The snails in my tank have white peds, as far as I can tell. They also have the "groove" in the shell as the second picture shows.
Bang......any thoughts?
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
I understand that they may be hard to identify, but now I'm feeling precautionary.
Could they be whelks or some other dangerous snail, or is your indecision between various friendly snails?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Fulcrum - I'm very interested in them. If you've found a non-predatory Whelk that can reproduce in the aquarium it's a good find.
Is there any chance you could send me some so I can try to get an exact Id?
 
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