Egg case hitchhiked in on a frag plug - what could it be/

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got a little frag of bubblegum digi in a trade of sorts and right before I dipped it, I spotted some grey-brown spots on the underside of the frag plug that looked like some kind of egg. I poked one with tweezers and it felt gelatinous, so I pulled one off and took a look under the microscope.

Whatever's in there is moving around, and best I can tell it's likely some kind of snail, there seem to be small shells with a fleshy thing sticking out of the opening, but right now they are still tiny - the whole egg case is around 2mm across, so each mystery creature is maybe 300um across.




Any guess of what it is?
 
OP
OP
DaJMasta

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Qt, it's peaked my curiosity. I put the frag in a cup about half full of water, clamped the cup to the inside of my fry system without any real coral in it, and gave it some air for a bit of flow. The coral probably won't be happy in the low light, but I should have at least a few days to see if little things come swimming out.
 

arking_mark

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
2,592
Reaction score
1,814
Location
Potomac
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Frag came from my tank...these were new plugs left in the sand bed for a couple weeks.

I do have collinista snails in the tank and suspect that is what these are.

I'm also super curious to see what they become...these eggs are on my other frags I left in my sand bed. If they turn out to be collinista snails...I now have a factory!
 

arking_mark

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
2,592
Reaction score
1,814
Location
Potomac
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Here's a picture from another frag plug...

20220526_164914-01.jpeg
 
OP
OP
DaJMasta

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nothing hatched out so far, looking at the collonista snail pictures floating around the net - these seem a lot more full, but maybe that's just that they're closer to hatching.

I'll keep my eyes open for specks running around in the QT cup!
 

arking_mark

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
2,592
Reaction score
1,814
Location
Potomac
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nothing hatched out so far, looking at the collonista snail pictures floating around the net - these seem a lot more full, but maybe that's just that they're closer to hatching.

I'll keep my eyes open for specks running around in the QT cup!
Anything in the cup?
 
OP
OP
DaJMasta

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Anything in the cup?
Well, I looked.... and there were some specks that didn't look like just from waterborne debris, so I got some with the pipette. I saw movement in a little vial, so I got two in a drop of water and looked at them under the microscope...



They still look at least somewhat like what was in the egg sacks, but a quick google of pelagic snail larvae shows some things which look similar, so I think some kind of snail is probably correct and collonista sounds like a no-brainer with the prior history. I'll put a bit of phyto in the cup with the frag and see if I get anything to settle out - I think collonistas are only suppose to be free swimming for a short period, though I don't know how long.
 

arking_mark

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
2,592
Reaction score
1,814
Location
Potomac
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well, I looked.... and there were some specks that didn't look like just from waterborne debris, so I got some with the pipette. I saw movement in a little vial, so I got two in a drop of water and looked at them under the microscope...



They still look at least somewhat like what was in the egg sacks, but a quick google of pelagic snail larvae shows some things which look similar, so I think some kind of snail is probably correct and collonista sounds like a no-brainer with the prior history. I'll put a bit of phyto in the cup with the frag and see if I get anything to settle out - I think collonistas are only suppose to be free swimming for a short period, though I don't know how long.

Truly amazing microscope video.
 

arking_mark

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
2,592
Reaction score
1,814
Location
Potomac
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well, I looked.... and there were some specks that didn't look like just from waterborne debris, so I got some with the pipette. I saw movement in a little vial, so I got two in a drop of water and looked at them under the microscope...



They still look at least somewhat like what was in the egg sacks, but a quick google of pelagic snail larvae shows some things which look similar, so I think some kind of snail is probably correct and collonista sounds like a no-brainer with the prior history. I'll put a bit of phyto in the cup with the frag and see if I get anything to settle out - I think collonistas are only suppose to be free swimming for a short period, though I don't know how long.


Definitely looks like pelagic snail larvae! I'm still betting Collinista...as I'm not aware of any of my other snails being able to reproduce in the tank.
 
OP
OP
DaJMasta

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Two more days, no more real answers, but some new video. They're easier to see by eye, seem a bit more active, and those sort of earlobe kind of hoops they have are ciliated vacuums, basically, presumably for feeding and propulsion.





I don't think the frag is too ticked yet.......
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

Just another girl who likes fish
View Badges
Joined
May 14, 2019
Messages
13,092
Reaction score
19,531
Location
Spring, Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is an Amscope T690C, but it's a bit dusty. I'm hoping to upgrade and have a very fancy one in mind.... but it's expensive, so we'll see.

They're still swimming today, no settlement yet.
Yikes, the T690C is already expensive! :)
 
OP
OP
DaJMasta

DaJMasta

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
890
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks, the camera probably helps too! Definitely not the right choice for the microscope, but unreasonably high resolution and with a nice large sensor (Basler acA5472-17uc). I need to look into white balance settings to get it looking less yellow (and this is actual color since the halogen lamp for illumination has a pretty warm color temperature), but the optics generally seem pretty good, and having phase contrast as an option really brings a huge amount of detail in more transparent specimens, without staining or killing whatever you're looking at.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 76 37.4%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 70 34.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 26 12.8%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
Back
Top