What were t hey doing??

[sharon]

OK. I have these 2 snail looking things in my 5 gal. tank. They only have what looks like a little cap of a shell and they can kind of stand up and reach to get to another spot.
Any how. I was checking the tank a little while ago, and one was up on the lr, and the other one was almost on the sand. And they were both "standing up" and exhaling like puffs of steam. What were they doing? Spawning? Is this harmful for the tank?? I have a pair of dwarf seahorses in there. Should I be worried? <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
Sharon

 

[bang guy]

You witness a Stomatella varia spawning event. Congrats! These are great diatom consumers. The larvae are short lived and non-feeding so you will probably end up with a lot of them.
I personally think Stomatella are great cleaners. They are nocturnal, small enough to get into every nook & cranny, can't bulldose anything and as you will find out, the population is self-regulating.
Great critters to have.
Guy

 

[sharon]

Thanks. I kind of thought that is what they were doing. But I wanted to be sure. Also, I worry about stuff harming the dwarf seahorses. Thanks again.
Sharon
Sharon

 

[karlas]

i think they are one of the best cleaner snails you can get also. they are harmless and if you have any filter feeders in the tank corals, feather dusters, etc. it helps provide food for them also