FAQs about Marine Snail Egg
Identification 1
Related Articles: Gastropods, Sea Slugs, Mollusks, Abalone,
Related FAQs: Snail Egg
ID 2, Snail Egg ID 3, &
Snail ID 1, Snail ID 2, Snail
ID 3, Snail ID 4, Snail ID 5, Snail
ID 6, Snail ID 7, Snail ID 8, Snail ID
9, Snail ID 10, Snail ID 11, Snail ID
12, Snail ID 13, Snail ID 14, Snail
ID 15, Snail ID 16, Snail ID 17, Snail ID
18, Snail ID 19, Snail ID 20, Snail
ID 21, Snail ID 22, Snail ID 23, & Marine Snails 1, Marine Snails 2, Marine Snails 3, Invertebrate ID, Snail Behavior, Snail Selection, Snail Compatibility, Snail Systems, Snail Feeding, Snail Disease, Snail Reproduction, Mollusks, Sea
Slugs, Abalone,
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Can You Identify This For Me? Snail Eggs, Likely Cerith
-- 8/28/08 <Hello Liz, Lynn here this evening.> I
have this white thing in my tank. At first it was in one place, and
then this morning I see it in a totally different place. Can you
tell me what it is? <It looks like what's commonly called a
'snail trail', a harmless, looping/squiggly, rope-like
strand of snail eggs. By any chance do you have any Cerith snails
in your tank? They lay eggs in patterns just like this. The strands
tend to last for several days then simply disappear, becoming part
of the food chain. It sounds like you either had two separate snail
trails (and the first was eaten), or the first strand came loose
and snagged at the second location. It's not at all uncommon
for this to happen. I'd love to be able to tell you that
you'll soon be seeing baby snails cruising about, but
unfortunately, the young have very little chance of surviving. On
the plus side though, it speaks well of your husbandry techniques.
Good job! Thank you Liz <You're very welcome. Take care
--Lynn> |
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What a surprise...but what is it? Looks like snail eggs!
2/2/08 Hello WWW Crew, <Hi there, Pat.> Thanks for your site! I have
learned a lot from reading your answers and articles. <Excellent!> Starting
a reef tank has been one heck of a learning experience and even after ~2
years I am still finding new things in my own tank and I have no idea what
they are! <Heheeee! Isn't it amazing the things that can crawl out of a
rock!> It has led me to purchase a microscope to examine things in new
detail, some pictures which I have included. <Neat! Opens up a whole new
world, doesn't it!> My question is I found about a dozen egg sacks on the
inside of the cover of my MJ. They are a little larger than a BB and have
some white things eggs in each one and in this one it looks like they are
alive and moving. The only opening in the MJ is the two small holes ~1/8",
and the sacks are larger than the holes. Do you know what they are? I am
thinking amphipod eggs. <Nope, not amphipod eggs. The females carry the
fertilized eggs in a brood pouch until they're ready to hatch. What you have
looks very much like snail eggs, but I'd love to know how they got there!>
In the first picture there is a copepod in the upper right to give you an
idea of size. <Thanks.> In the second, just below center is what I think is
a partially developed pod. It is upright with a black eye and a clear
antenna and darker body? <I see that. Looks like a developing embryo -- hard
to tell what it is at this point. Please see this link for photos/more
information: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-02/rs/index.php.> I
guess I can always wait and see if they develop more. <Yes please, and
document as much as you can! I'd love to see the progression/development!>
Both pictures are in the following link: http://cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?p=305826#post305826
Please feel free to download the pictures from the link to post, I have had
problem with sending you e-mails with attachments. <Ok, thanks.> Thanks for
your time, Pat
<You're very welcome! Take care. --Lynn> |
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Mystery Marine Eggs, Likely Snails --
1/29/08 Hi everyone, <Hi Rochelle.> Have some mystery
eggs here I hope you can tell me what they are. No one is
guarding them or tending to them (so far, it's been 3 hours)
so I am unable to figure it out. Here are the
possibilities'¦ I have '¦ 3 Percula clownfish,
(but when I looked up their eggs, it showed them yellow then
turning to orange/red as they develop) I was rather hoping they
were clownfish. I have 2 mated 3 strip damsels, BUT.. the male is
currently tending to his own eggs on the opposite side of the
tank, so that can't be it. <Correct. Neither of these
species lay/deposit eggs in strands.> 1 magenta dotty back,
she has her own private cave. If they were hers you'd think
she would've laid them in there, not on a rock outside. 1
Hawkfish, I think he's a male and wouldn't have laid eggs
out in the open if he was female. 1 Chromis damsel, 1 mandarin
goby, 1 clown goby and some pink foot snails. I don't think
it was the snails, they weren't in the area at the time the
eggs 'appeared'. <Heeee! They're sneaky that way.
I don't know what species the 'pink foot snail' is,
but that egg strand looks like it came from either a snail or
Nudibranch of some sort.> I do have some crabs, blue legs, a
sally and a hermit, but that can't be right, crabs don't
lay eggs like that do they? <No, they don't.> When I
looked up the different fish I have, and what their eggs look
like, my eggs don't look like any of them. So do you think
they are clownfish? <Alas, no. It's more than likely a
"snail trail".> If so I'd like to move them to
my nursery tank (already to go with micro food stuffs). If you
think they belong to any other fish I'll leave them be. Due
to them not having a mate to fertilize them.
<That's how I'd handle these - leave
them and let 'nature' take its course.> Thanks in
advance, Rochelle
<You're very welcome. Take care. -Lynn>
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What Is This!?! Nerite Snail Egg Capsules
9/10/07 Ok.. I have a 90g tank.. and just moved across town..
and set up all my rock/sand/water in new 90g tank with built in
overflow...well... needless to say the move made my tank angry.
<I'm sorry your tank is upset.> and I am now getting over
the wave of algae that happened.. but I am finding a large amount
of rust colored flat worms <So long as they are not too big,
they are generally beneficial detritivores.> (which I am taking
care of) <???> and alot <This is not a word. Should be
'a lot'. I mention just for Bob, as it is one of his pet
peeves'¦ Right RMF? ;) > of these white hard disks I
don't know where they came from if they are related to the rust
flatworms, or if they are a parasite or not.. take a look and let
me know please. As I said they are hard, white and cannot be
siphoned off of the rock. <These are completely harmless Nerite
Snail egg capsules, nothing to worry about. You can read more about
them here:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2003/invert.htm Hope
your tank gets happier! Mich> |
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Critter ID -- Gastropod Egg Mass -- 08/07/07
Hi WWM Crew -- <<Hiya Bob>> Long time visitor and
fan!! <<Excellent>> After searching the photos and
snail/critter forum I didn't find anything describing the
"thing" that appeared on the front glass of my 220gl
reef tank overnight. <<Oh? Looks to be snail eggs to
me>> I have not added any new livestock in two years with
the exception of a clean-up crew restock about 4 weeks ago (50
Nerites, 50 Nassarius, 50 Cerith snails, 50 Blue Leg Crab, 4
Serpent Stars). This morning when I went to do my normal tank
check, this worm looking thing was stuck to the front glass.
I'm assuming worm or snail eggs? <<Is the
latter...looks to me to be an egg mass from a Cerith
Snail>> The lights (1100wts total) have been on full for 3
hours and this thing hasn't moved. <<And it
won't...on its own>> I couldn't get a clean picture
even with macro zoom. <<The picture was 'good
enough' in this instance>> It is approx 2" X
2" in overall area on glass but this thing is curled up in a
bunch of "s" shapes so it would be much longer
straightened out. Tank population is: 1 Hippo Tang 1 Foxface 1
Koran Angel Pair of Maroon Clowns (which have displayed mating
behaviors in the past) 1 Blue Devil 1 Yellowtail Damsel 1
Strawberry Dottyback Thanks for any assistance! Bob
<<Happy to help. EricR>>
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Identification Request... More snail eggs! -- 08/02/07 I
would like some help identifying the lacy, leaf-like
"growth" on the glass of my aquarium. <Snail eggs.
Second snail egg query today. Is it a full moon?> I've
looked all over the web for similar photos, but since I don't
know what to call it, I'm running out of ways to describe it
in search engines--so far nothing matches. <Yes, this can be
an exercise in futility.... and can be quite time consuming.>
I see this on the glass every once in awhile. Sometimes more
elaborate patterns. It seems to deteriorate (or get eaten?) after
a day or so. <The likely the latter.> I'm fairly new to
the marine aquarium hobby, so forgive me if this is one of those
"duh" questions that I should have found the answer for
with an "obvious" search query. <No worries... this
is how we learn.> Most things I find in my tank I have
gradually identified, but not knowing what they are to start with
can make it quite time consuming. <"Beetlejuice"
reference here?> Thanks for your help on this one.
<Welcome! Mich> David
Re: Identification Request... More snail
eggs! 8/4/07 Thanks, Mich. <Welcome David!> That
surely explains why I've recently started seeing little tiny
snails on my glass!!! <Mmm, unfortunately, this is not likely
the case.> Too small to tell what kind yet, but with a
magnifying glass it looks like they could be either turbo snails
or Astraea snails (I have both in the tank). <Don't mean
to burst your bubble here, but is more likely a different species
all together. The only larger marine snails that readily
reproduce in captivity as far as I'm aware of are Stomatella
snails.> Neat. Thanks for helping me make the connection.
<Sorry, but I doubt that there is really a connection.>
While I was first trying to decide what corals and fish to put in
my tank (and convincing my wife we could afford it!), I spent
lots of time just sitting on a stool in front of my tank watching
and marveling at the tiniest things going on just in my live rock
and sand. <Yes is one of the simple joys of keeping a marine
tank! Just be careful which people you tell that you spend
several hours staring at the rock in you tank. Some may begin to
needlessly worry about you.> Now the fish and corals can lure
a person away from the tiny things because of their larger size
and activity, but even while I enjoy them, I try to look past
them still to keep up with the intricacies of the tank. (My
yellow tang seems to know I'm not paying attention to him and
keeps himself in front of me whenever I sit and watch, moving to
whatever side of the tank I'm watching from.) <Mmm...
perhaps a Pavlovian response to food!> There's just so
much to see in there. <Yes, hours upon hours of entertainment!
Please continue to enjoy the amazing display of life your tank
can reveal. Cheers (and keep staring!)
Mich>
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Mystery "thing": Eggs - 6/2/07
Folks, <Hi Pete> You have been MUCH help to me in this
hobby so far, from the excellent information presented on the
website to the returned emails - thank you. <You're very
welcome, and thank you indeed for the kind words.> I noticed
this "thing" attached to the spray bar in my reef tank.
I have NO CLUE what this might be. Even after searching through
you site - I couldn't get an Id. Do you have any clue as to
what this is? <It appears to be eggs. I can't quite get a
size reference, but the squiggly pattern looks very similar to
what you see with Cerith snails. By chance do you have any in
your tank? If not, with a little more information regarding size
and what livestock you have, we might be able to figure it out.
At any rate, there's no cause for concern. It's a good
sign that you've got some happy inhabitants!> Should it be
removed? <No need.> Please ignore the date stamp - it's
wrong - this pic was taken 06/02/2007. <No problem.>
Thanks. --Pete <You're most welcome! -Lynn>
Re: Mystery "thing": Eggs - 6/3/07
<Hello Pete! Lynn here again.> Yes I do have Cerith snails!
Well then that explains it. <Yay!> Thank you so much, it
was driving me crazy trying to figure out what that was. <I
know just what you mean. When something mysterious pops up in
your tank, it's good to know what it is. Finding out that
it's no cause for concern is even better!> My assumption
is they may hatch and become a food source? <Yes.>
Yellow-tail blue damsel, yellow tang, tomato clown, urchin, some
snails, hermits, and a couple corals are in the 75 gal tank.
Again - a sincere thank you for your time. --Pete
<You're very welcome! -Lynn>
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Unknown White Growths...Nerite Snail
Eggs 5/15/07 Hello all... <Hi David, Mich
with you tonight.> First I would like to mention that I love
your site and I find a lot of much needed information on it that I
use in the daily maintenance of my tanks. <Thank you
for this fine compliment!> Now, to my
problem/dilemma. Over the past two weeks I have been
having a problem with ich and some other parasites attacking the
swim bladder that caused me to lose 9 fish in 2 1/2 days
<Yikes!!! I'm very sorry for you large loss.>
(believe it or not, this is not my problem). <Ok,
I'm a little scared now!> The other day when I woke up I
went to look at my tank to see how the survivors are doing and much
to my surprise all my live rock and even the snail shells were
covered with these white growths (I've attached two pictures,
one of the snail shell (IMG_0485) and one of a piece of my live
rock(IMG_0504)). I've searched your website, along
with some others, and I may be missing something or using the wrong
keyword but I cannot find anything that resembles or sounds like
this outbreak. I'm guessing that it has nothing to
do with the ich and other parasites that have taken over my tank
but I would like to know what these unknown growths are and how to
treat them. <Seems like you have some frisky Nerite snails in
you tank. These would be Nerite snail eggs, they
generally don't mature in captivity and there is nothing to
treat here. A photo here: http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/largfoto/r422fx.htm >
I took one of the snail shells to my LFS and after careful
examination the owner determined that it looked like this growth
feeds off of calcium. He came to this conclusion by
taking a razor blade to the growth and removing it. When
it came off the shell was all soft and a few layers could easily be
scraped off. When you took the razor blade to other
parts of the shell where no growths were, the shell was hard, as it
should be. Could this be clam or mussel
larvae? When I got home I was looking around my tank and
found a snail that had a growth (looks like a shell) on
it. I've attached that picture as well
(IMG_0512). I'm sorry about that picture but it was
as close as I could get to the turbo snail using my digital camera
and lens. Do you have any suggestions as to what this
problem could be? <This is not a problem or anything
to be concerned about. You will likely see these
"sesame seed" like eggs wax and wane in your system.>
If so, how do I treat it because my 125 gallon is stocked full of
these white growths. Thank you for your time and
continued knowledge. <Welcome! My pleasure to
assist.> Good night....Dave
<G'night! Mich> |
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Unidentified Egg Sacks -
12/01/06 Hello, my name is Michael.
<<Hi Michael...Eric here...>> First off, thank you for
being such a helpful site. <<Glad you think so>> Your
site has stopped me from making countless mistakes and has helped
me diagnose and save the life of one of my sick clownfish =).
<<Excellent to hear!>> Anyways, today I noticed about
twelve small white egg sacks the size of pin heads on my tank
glass. They are almost evenly dispersed near the top of
three of the walls. I sent a drawing I made of them
close up. <<I see it>> I know it is not very clear and
could easily be from many types of creatures but I only have two
types of creatures in my tank that I think could possibly make
them. I have a somewhat new pair of True Percula
Clownfish that seem to have paired nicely but I am not sure if
clownfish would produce 12 small egg sacks and then put them
everywhere while leaving them unguarded even if it would be their
first time having babies. <<Mmm, no...these are definitely
not clownfish eggs>> I also have some turbo snails in the
tank but I think that their egg pattern looks different.
<<Indeed...long ragged-looking white strings>> I then
have crabs, a few corals, and some other species of fish but none
are in mated pairs. <<Pairing is not always/many times
unnecessary for an organism to produce "eggs">> So
if it is possible, could you venture a guess as what type of eggs
these are? <<Sure...if the "membrane" were more
round/symmetrical I would say these were egg-clusters from a
species of Nassarius snail. I think it likely these are
from "some" type of mollusk (probably a hitchhiker on
coral/live rock), and very likely harmless if not
beneficial>> Could they have come from something besides the
clowns or snails? <<As just stated>> Thanks very much
for your time and any help you can give me, Michael
<<A pleasure to assist. EricR>> |
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Re: New growth... ID = snail eggs 1/12/06
Hello once again and once again, thanks for an awesome site. <Hi
Randy, Mich here today. Glad you like the site.> I have
one question today. I have a growth that seems to have appeared almost
over night and have no idea what it is. <Likely did appear
overnight.> I have reduced the picture size in order to send it to
you but when blown up, it shows a definite pattern and almost looks
like eggs of some sort. <Yep.> Can you help me to identify this?
<Looks like snail eggs to me.> I can send the pic in a larger
size if needed. <No need.> Thanks again for your help, Randy
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Thanks again for your response. <Welcome!> Ok,
so possibly snail eggs. If that's true, is that a good thing or
bad? <It's all good! Happy and healthy enough for
reproduction!> Obviously I don't want 100 or 200 snails
running around in the tank. <Understandable.> Haha! Should I
just leave it or wipe them off. <Leave it there, will most
likely be eaten by other critters in your tank.> Thanks again,
<Welcome again! -Mich>
Randy |
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Odd white pattern on live rock Dear folks,
<Howdy> Thanks in advance for your time. I was just looking
at my tank and noticed an odd pattern in two locations on my live
rock. It is white and looks like it is made up of mini bubbles or
something. It is very squiggly and the pattern is extraordinary
regular. Without a digital camera, I am forced to send a poor
computer drawing. I know that my drawing stinks, but really, the
design is like this only each loop is exactly the same and very
close together but not touching. I thought it might have come from
the margarita snails ( I have 3) But I am not sure. I also have a
bunch of Cerith snails, 2 clowns and a few hermit crabs. Thanks,
Steve <Drawing looks fine, and I do agree with your suspicion.
This is likely a "snail trail". Nothing to be concerned
about... as the system goes/grows, other organisms will come into
being, preponderance that the snails don't denude. Bob
Fenner> |
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Not a Question Actually, this isn't a question...on
the Snails FAQ 2, the question titled Odd white pattern on live
rock -- those are Cerith snail eggs. I have pics of one in the
process of laying eggs if you'd like a copy... <Thanks
much for this. Will amend (my evil ways, no, actually just this
label) on the morrow> SushiGirl <Ooh, and I like that
name. Bob Fenner>
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Response to odd white pattern on live rock Hello
Crew; <<And hello to you. JasonC here at your service...>>
This is not a question, but another confirmation on a previous post in
marine snails 2. <<Fair enough.>> The title of the post was
"odd white pattern on live rock" I have the same
pattern...white squiggly lines that under magnification, look like they
are made up of tiny bubbles. The only difference...mine are on the
glass inside the tank. I have 10 Cerith snails that hang out on the
glass a lot and I noticed the snails producing these lines. I suspect
that they are Cerith snail eggs, just as SushiGirl suggested.
<<And that is the most likely explanation. Cerith snails are
known to lay their eggs in geometric patterns.>> Thanks for your
time;
Kevin
<<Cheers, J -- >>
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