I've got a small group of these around my powerhead. Smaller spheres make up the white section. Thinking they're nassarius eggs perhaps?
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I'll run with it! Thank you. Any idea if they can complete the life cycle in the tank? Some of the info I read says they have a 2 month planktonic period but there are so many species and others report they do reproduce successfully in aquaria...all this different info gets me confused lolThat sounds like a good guess.
If they’re Nassarius eggs then probably not, but it does seem to depend on the species (most Nassarius species I’m aware of have pelagic larvae, so they wouldn’t survive, but some - like N. fraterculus - have benthic larvae that would do just fine).I'll run with it! Thank you. Any idea if they can complete the life cycle in the tank? Some of the info I read says they have a 2 month planktonic period but there are so many species and others report they do reproduce successfully in aquaria...all this different info gets me confused lol
I'm not sure what species this is (and there are way too many species in the genus for me to feel confident in my ability to narrow the list down enough to find it), but I did find out that there are some Nassarius species (such as the Japanese Nassa, N. fraterculus) which have benthic larvae.
OP, the fact that yours are reproducing freely in a tropical tank is really cool (regardless of if they actually are Nassarius snails or not). Have they caused any issues for you, particularly with other snails, or have they just been beneficial CUC?
Yeah, you probably won't see success in breeding these guys with that diet (you might, but odds are not in your favor) - various species of phytoplankton have been tried a number of times unsuccessfully in the rearing of different Nassarius species.
I know of three species of Nassarius that have been successfully aquacultured, two of which (N. vibex and N. obsoletus) were aquacultured using planktonic feeds (Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Nitzschia closterium) that were much more commonly available back in the 1900's, and the third (N. reticulatus) was cultured using a suspension feeder product called "Snow Reef" by SHG.
You can still find Phaeodactylum tricornutum available at a hefty price from UTEX, and you can find a number of Nitzschia spp. on the market too (though Nitzschia closterium is not one you'll likely find), but I'm not sure how well these feeds would work for N. distortus. Supposedly N. reticulatus may be reared exclusively on Nitzschia sp. or spp., but, to my knowledge, this hasn't been attempted again since it was first attempted back in the 1930's.
Anyway, if you're wanting to try rearing N. distortus, these foods (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Nitzschia spp., and Snow Reef) are likely your best bets for successful rearing foods. I've heard it can take anywhere from 3-15 days for the eggs to hatch (this is likely dependent on a number of different factors), and it takes about 1-2 months for the snails to go from hatchling veligers to settled snails (the time depends on the species and the chemistry of the available substrate in your tank for certain; it likely depends on the water chemistry too, but I don't know this one for sure; it also varies from species to species, with the average time for one being 35 days, the average time for another being 45 days, etc.). So, the total rearing time for these guys is likely 1.5-2.5 months.
One important thing to keep in mind if you try rearing these guys, though, is that high algae growth in the tank may inhibit larval snail movements and result in them dying, so it may be important to keep nutrient levels/algae growth under control throughout the rearing process.
I'm not sure how long it would take for copepods to establish in the tank (it depends on a number of different factors - water chemistry, food availability, etc.).
Cannot be sure. The ceriths lay strings of eggs and I also have 2 big turbos but can't find any definitive pics of their eggs... my google isn't working right today lolIf they’re Nassarius eggs
I've got a small group of these around my powerhead. Smaller spheres make up the white section. Thinking they're nassarius eggs perhaps?
I never would have guessed Nassarius eggs (usually, they lay flat sheets of eggs:Cannot be sure. The ceriths lay strings of eggs and I also have 2 big turbos but can't find any definitive pics of their eggs... my google isn't working right today lol
Ahh ok. Thank you for clarifying that.Turbo snails do not deposit their eggs on hard surfaces but rather spawn by throwing their eggs and sperm into the water
Do you have any pictures of the Nassarius snails?Does coloration play into identifying the species or is it mainly shell shape? They look like vibex from what I can compare them to but very light colored
Ilyanassa obsoleta (the one that gets mixed up), has this black, stubby shell:
Nassarius shells vary, but are generally more elongated:
Tan colored Nassarius distortus:
Ivory Nassarius arcularia:
Mottled Nassarius margaritifer:
Rare Nassarius velatus (I have a single black one):
Tiny Phrontis vibex (once Nassarius vibex):
Brown Nassarius limnaeiformis:
Also avoid the Babylon snail (Babylonia sp.), sometimes sold as "Nassarius," consumes microfauna and sessile inverts: