Baby snail, what kind?

[mh0ward]

Hi everyone,

I have started to notice a lot of tiny baby snails at the top of the water line and I’m not sure what kind they might be. They’re about the size of a grain of sand right now, but I pulled one and put it under a microscope.

The only snails I’ve intentionally put in the tank are Nassarius, Trochus, Cerith, a couple of Mexican Turbos and a couple of Stomatella. The shell shape is probably closest to the Turbos, but the coloring doesn’t seem right for them. It’s also possible I’ve had snails in here I wasn’t even aware of, so I’m not sure.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Maritimer]

The shell shape puts me in mind of nerite snails, though reproducing those in an aquarium would be out of the ordinary.

Do you have ocean liverock in the tank?

~B.

 

[mh0ward]

The shell shape puts me in mind of nerite snails, though reproducing those in an aquarium would be out of the ordinary.

Do you have ocean liverock in the tank?

~B.

I do not. It was started with dry Marco rock, but I suppose it’s possible that one of the leathers I’ve picked up may have came on ocean rock or from a system with ocean rock in it. Those are the only coral that have come on rock, everything else in there has come on plugs. Tank is right at 12 mo old.

 

[kevgib67]

@ISpeakForTheSeas ?

 

[Tamberav]

Collonista snail I would guess

probably some came in as a hitchiker on something

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas ?

Collonista snail I would guess

probably some came in as a hitchiker on something

Collonista or close relative would be my first thoughts as well.

 

[mh0ward]

Are they worth of keeping around or will I regret it later? I’m seeing that some consider them a nuisance since they can reproduce quickly? No telling how many babies there are, but I can probably count 10 just around the water line (20 gal long)

 

[Maritimer]

All of the snails mentioned are good cleanup crew, with the usual caveat of the possibility of small snails getting into pumps and powerheads.

~B.