Aquatic calligraphy and invert embroidery: What do you do with snail eggs?

What do you do with snail eggs?

  • Ignore them.

    Votes: 111 57.2%
  • Watch them to see if they hatch.

    Votes: 55 28.4%
  • Scrape them off.

    Votes: 22 11.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 6 3.1%

  • Total voters
    194

Peace River

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Aquatic calligraphy and invert embroidery: What do you do with snail eggs?

It is not uncommon for snail eggs to show up in a reef tank. Sometimes these are in the shape of a dot, a squiggle, or some other pattern. The appearance of the eggs will identify the type of snail that laid the eggs such as the interesting pattern of nassarius snail eggs that occasionally show up on the aquarium glass. Whatever type of snails laid the eggs in your aquarium, what do you do with the snail eggs? Do you leave them in place, scrape them off, or maybe you take another approach? In addition to telling us what you do with the snail eggs, please let us know in the discussion why you take that approach.

JimboBucket_SnailEggs.jpeg

Photo by @Jimbo Bucket


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"Offering one of the largest selections of coral and dry goods online. Top Shelf Aquatics is your one stop shop for all of your aquarium needs. We have made our name by not only providing the healthiest and most vibrant frags shipped straight to your door, but we pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service. Whether you are looking for that one of a kind piece or for the perfect beginner coral to start your reef, our dedicated staff is always eager to help!"
 

JoJosReef

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I scrape them and put them onto my fungia plate. It eats them. Sometimes I leave a strand on the pectinia to see if it will eat the eggs. Why the plate and the pectinia? They are in the corner of the tank that the snails seem to prefer laying eggs--no idea why.
 

Tired

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For a bit, I had a Hector's goby that ate 'em. Hector's gobies are a bit like a typical goby crossed with something like a possum wrasse- they hover around poking and nipping at things. Before that, and now, I ignore 'em.
 

Gino

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I selected other... because, it's all depends on where they place their eggs. If they lay on the front or side glass. I scrap them off when cleaning out the glass. But if if it's on the back glass I leave it alone. It could be a tasty snack for any of the other inhabitants in the tank, or if I'm lucky enough, then they might hatch as it happen few times in my tank. Either way doesn't bother me, because it's something that I enjoy looking their patterns while it lasts.
 

Noodles_Jefferson

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Aquatic calligraphy and invert embroidery: What do you do with snail eggs?

It is not uncommon for snail eggs to show up in a reef tank. Sometimes these are in the shape of a dot, a squiggle, or some other pattern. The appearance of the eggs will identify the type of snail that laid the eggs such as the interesting pattern of nassarius snail eggs that occasionally show up on the aquarium glass. Whatever type of snails laid the eggs in your aquarium, what do you do with the snail eggs? Do you leave them in place, scrape them off, or maybe you take another approach? In addition to telling us what you do with the snail eggs, please let us know in the discussion why you take that approach.

JimboBucket_SnailEggs.jpeg

Photo by @Jimbo Bucket


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.topshelfaquatics.com
TSABanner2.jpeg

"Offering one of the largest selections of coral and dry goods online. Top Shelf Aquatics is your one stop shop for all of your aquarium needs. We have made our name by not only providing the healthiest and most vibrant frags shipped straight to your door, but we pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service. Whether you are looking for that one of a kind piece or for the perfect beginner coral to start your reef, our dedicated staff is always eager to help!"
I haven't seen that but sometimes I do see what appear to be tiny starfish on the glass. Not sure where they came from.
 

vetteguy53081

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I used to watch them and now I observe them as they are caviar in Most cases
 

reeftivo

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i scrape them when they are above the substrate on the sides and front pane but leave them when they are low at the sand in hopes of increasing the CUC a bit.

i've had a couple good size hatchings in the last year with ceriths when the bands are on the glass right at the sand.
 

Richsoar

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Just leave them alone and see what happens. Had a couple of snails that where laying them for weeks. Nothing ever came from them.
 

OrionN

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In 30+ yrs of reefkeeping I've never had a snail lay eggs that I'm aware of - if they did it was never on the glass.
Perhaps you were not as observant enough. I see a lot of snail eggs on glass. There are a lots of snails that reproduced in our tank lay eggs on the glass of the tank.
 

kingmushroom

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I scrape once a week when cleaning the front glass. I think that those eggs are from Nerite Snail (Nerita Natalensis), they are white ovals in the glass, 1mm in diameter.
Once my tank was left alone in a vacation and some snails from other species reproduced (something like 50 mini snails with 2mm shell diameter in a 100l aquarium). I don't know how easy this happens in home tanks, the snail that got babies was probably from the species Agathistoma Viridulum (sold as turbo but it is native from southwest atlantic), because the shell shape is identical. I didn't noticed any egg patches from this snail.
I suppose that I left more algae biofilm, but who knows for sure.
 

Reefing threads: Do you wear gear from reef brands?

  • I wear reef gear everywhere.

    Votes: 20 13.7%
  • I wear reef gear primarily at fish events and my LFS.

    Votes: 10 6.8%
  • I wear reef gear primarily for water changes and tank maintenance.

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • I wear reef gear primarily to relax where I live.

    Votes: 22 15.1%
  • I don’t wear gear from reef brands.

    Votes: 83 56.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 10 6.8%
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