Cerith Snail Eggs?

sketh · Oct 9, 2024

Are these Cerith snail eggs? They don’t seem to have the same egg structure as the pictures I see online.

Should I keep them, remove them from the tank, or let my tuxedo urchin graze over them?

TX_REEF · Oct 9, 2024

yes, they look like cerith eggs. Mine lay strands like this fairly regularly. I'd just leave them alone, they will get eaten, blow away or hatch on their own.

sketh · Oct 9, 2024

TX_REEF said:
yes, they look like cerith eggs. Mine lay strands like this fairly regularly. I'd just leave them alone, they will get eaten, blow away or hatch on their own.

I'm running a coral-only tank but have a cuc which demands algae:

1x tuxedo urchin
1x trochus snail
3x cerith snails

I only feed zooplanktos-s ~once every couple weeks to promote some algae growth and increase nitrates/phosphates. Would it be advisable to even let them hatch? I'm concerned about having too many algae eaters and not enough algae for them to eat.

TX_REEF · Oct 9, 2024

In my experience they are unlikely to hatch broadly or at all, much less survive to adulthood. Unless your tank is super tiny, I wouldn't sweat it. Die off of larval snails is unlikely to have any negative effect on water quality - at the end of the day, they aren't adding anything to your tank that wasn't already there. Of course, if you just dont like looking at them, feel free to scrape them off and be done with it.

sketh · Oct 9, 2024

TX_REEF said:
In my experience they are unlikely to hatch broadly or at all, much less survive to adulthood. Unless your tank is super tiny, I wouldn't sweat it. Die off of larval snails is unlikely to have any negative effect on water quality - at the end of the day, they are adding anything to your tank that wasn't already there. Of course, if you just dont like looking at them, feel free to scrape them off and be done with it.

Understood, that seems to be the same information I've found online. Thank you for your assistance and identification!