Nassarius snails breeding
- Thread starter Shnabbles
- Start date
racrumrine
New member
Can you provide a picture or a link to something that looks like what you have?
Best of luck,
Roy
Best of luck,
Roy
greenbean36191
Premium Member
Nassarius lay egg capsules that sort of look like small white kernals of corn, usually on the rocks.
It's very unlikely that you have Nassarius successfully breeding in a reef tank though. What you're probably seeing are one of the many small snail groups that show up in reeftanks fairly often.
It's very unlikely that you have Nassarius successfully breeding in a reef tank though. What you're probably seeing are one of the many small snail groups that show up in reeftanks fairly often.
Shnabbles
New member
I have the jumbo white nassarius snails... I wish I had a digitial camera worth a damn lol.... They are exact replicas of thier the full grown Nassarius... They have the little trunks just like their parents and they dig down in the sand and come up when i feed the tank just like the full size ones.
I would bet almost anything they are babies..
When the latest group of new borns were seen they all had a tiny bit of mucus like stuff coming from their shells like they just came from their egg.
I would bet almost anything they are babies..
When the latest group of new borns were seen they all had a tiny bit of mucus like stuff coming from their shells like they just came from their egg.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
The reason I say that it's unlikely that you have baby Nassarius is that AFAIK, all species in the genus have planktotrophic larvae. That means that the larvae have a prolonged planktonic stage (about a month or so) and that they need to feed on phytoplankton during that period. That poses several hurdles to their development in a reef tank. The larvae are pretty fragile, so being jostled around in a reef tank or pumped through filtration and circulation equipment is likely to do them in. They also make tasty snacks for things like corals and other inverts. The biggest problem though is the availability of photoplankton. There is very little chance of having enough phytoplankton available in a reef tank to keep the larvae fed, even if you dose daily.
Even in culture systems, it's a lot of work to raise most planktotrophic larvae in captivity.
Even in culture systems, it's a lot of work to raise most planktotrophic larvae in captivity.
Shnabbles
New member
OK i got my horrible camera out.. hope these pics show something.
First a couple of the adults... these are about the size of a quarter.
Now here is a baby... about the size of the led in a #2 pencil.
And here is one of the family, the 2 in front are bigger then the pic above... the one in the back is a adult... kinda hard to tell size because the adult is in the back.
First a couple of the adults... these are about the size of a quarter.
Now here is a baby... about the size of the led in a #2 pencil.
And here is one of the family, the 2 in front are bigger then the pic above... the one in the back is a adult... kinda hard to tell size because the adult is in the back.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
Well from those pics the snails appear to be a different species. They are definitely whelks, but don't appear to be Nassarius. Can you take some of them out and get a few photos of them for me? You need to get a shot of them looking straight down on the back of the shell and one looking at the opening of the shell.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
Yes, the large snail is Nassarius, but from the pictures the small snails don't appear to be. The similarity is probably only superficial as they're both whelks. Better pictures are needed to tell for sure.
BrianPlankis
Premium Member
I would be interested in seeing pictures of these snails as well, I have heard many rumors of Nassarius snails breeding in captivity before, but never any conclusive proof.
My avatar is an example of how a snail should be photographed for having a better chance at identification (although better resolution of course). Then flip it over and take a picture of the other side opposite the shell opening.
Brian
My avatar is an example of how a snail should be photographed for having a better chance at identification (although better resolution of course). Then flip it over and take a picture of the other side opposite the shell opening.
Brian
D-Rod
Active member
last march i seeded and cured some LR that had been out of a tank for 3 months and i added 4 turbos by the time i got around to putting the rock in my tank 3+ months later the turbos were dead and within a month of being in a tank i spotted 6 tiny white dots and now they're the size of a pencil eraser.
i also purchased 24 certh and 24 nassarius and now i have babies of both...
SO IT IS POSSIBLE!
My tank is FOWLR and i've never added/purchased LR except for the LR that was out of the tank for 3 months.
i also purchased 24 certh and 24 nassarius and now i have babies of both...
SO IT IS POSSIBLE!
My tank is FOWLR and i've never added/purchased LR except for the LR that was out of the tank for 3 months.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
I would love to see pics too if you can get them. A lot of times people confuse adults of small hitchhiking species (i.e. rissoids and Collonista) for juveniles of clean up crew members. Of course there are also people who definitely have cerith and even Turbo snails breeding. I still haven't seen anyone successfully raising Nassarius though.
I disagree. I do see several small whelks, but none of them look even remotely like N. vibex or similar small species to me. I'm still waiting on better pictures though to tell what they actually are.
D-Rod
Active member
I will try to post pics over the next week or 2, house will be full of family from accross the state so keeping my face plastered on the glass for long periods or time will not happen for a while.
They are hard to find because they blend in so well, small and are most active at night.
They are hard to find because they blend in so well, small and are most active at night.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
There are lots of whelks (which is a group that includes Nassarius), and there are all sorts of feeding modes among them. Some, like Nassarius and columbellids are reef safe. The majority are predators on worms or mollusks though.
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