Lots of baby snails...now what do I do ??
 

I read a post a while back about someone wondering what all those small white things could be on the glass of his aquarium.. He said they all of a sudden showed up one day. He was told they were snails. Well....I didn't quite believe it (I mean...how could that much show up "all of a sudden")...until last night !! :o

My aquarium glass is covered with small curled up white stuff. Showed up all of a sudden. They are also on live rock.
I think they are baby turbo snails.
Question is...how long does it take for them to grow? Will my hermit crabs and fish eat them? (didn't see any get eaten last night ).

Wow...

Michael

There are small white things that are curled up that are not snails, they are actually tiny tube worms, I have them all over my glass but I clean my front glass at least daily so I never see them there. If they are snails they will be moving, if not, they are probably the tube worms. If they are snails, grow em and sell em if you want or keep them.

Hmm...didn't see them moving too much. I've looked for information on tube worms, and haven't found anything so far. Are they good or bad to have in an aquarium?

Do you have a pic?

They could be copepods... I see them on glass quite a lot. They seem to come in cycles, as they "hatch".

Noel

As far as I know they are good, they are filter feeders and help keep your water clean/clear.

I know what you're talking about. I've seen them on used Mag pumps I've bought and things. I have them on my refugium walls, my tank is quite new and I just noticed them after this post. They are really tiny white spiral filter feeders. Completely harmless im sure.

Although to an addition to this post. I actually have baby snails in my refugium. They came with some LS. I put one in the tank to see if it would grow. Not sure what kind they are but they aren't the little rice shape clam eating ones. They are round. I have no pic, but christy might. Anyone have these? Do they actually grow into big snails?

Most snails start out as larvae if I am not mistaken and are consumed in the aquarium. If any survive they should grow into.... well.. snails just like Mom and Dad. My cerith snails are always leaving little egg squiggles all over my glass, they just don't seem to grow into adults, to bad because I really like them.

Ok, thanks for the reply. I'll just leave the guys in the fuge. So much wierd stuff grows in a refugium :roll:

lol Just be glad you don't have a microscope you would think there was an alien invasion going on.

The more weird stuff the better in the refugium in my humble opinion.

Jack,

If the sand you are referring to is the stuff from my LR tank, then those are definitely baby snails. I have tons of them in my 20G - some are reaching about 6-7mm in diameter (foot). They will continue to grow in your refugium...

Ryland

Ryland,

Yup, that's from the sand I got from you. That was some good stuff. I'll PM you.

Ryland, what are you doing special to get snails to survive? I have Cerith snails in my refugium but the egg masses just drift into the main tank after a few days on the glass.

Here is a link to a photo I found on the web that shows the small white circular baby snails (i think) on the glass. This person thought they were cerith snails.
http://home.attbi.com/~anemoneman2/b...th_resized.jpg

Michael

BCOG,

I don't know if I am doing anything that would be considered special. I had the snails in two separate tanks. The common factor was the LR. I used sugar sand (aragonite) in both tanks, I was not skimming either tank, I was using carbon on both tanks.

The snails preferred to hide during the day in the grape caulerpa/bottom of the tank. When the light was low or off, they would come out on the rocks and glass. In the 20G I have, I also have a hoard of baby Brittle Stars that are multiplying - quite amazing since I have never purchased a brittle star.

Ryland

Thats what I have but they don't move around they have little feather like appendanges (for lack of a better description) I figured they were a feather duster of sorts.

Wow Ryland, I have sugar aragonite in my refugium with tons of grape calupera too, I do have a skimmer going though but it is in my sump.

What ever you are doing seems to be working, I had a good sized population of baby peppermint shrimp in my 20 gallon the seemed to love the sponge filter, now.... nothing that I can see in any great number.

Look like tube worms to me... baby feather dusters.

Noel

Hmm....I'm kinda confused now since in my tank...I don't have any feather dusters. I did buy some more liverock last month...I wonder if that's where they were hiding.
I'll keep you posted as to what happens with them.

Michael

I had something new show up on my glass this morning, tiny tiny clear things that have what looks like minute grains of sand in them. I don't notice them moving but they sure look different than the tiny tube worms I mentioned earlier.
Since all my fish are out of the tank I wonder if maybe they are snails, with nothing to eat them maybe they are growing..... have to keep my eyes open and see what develops, I know I did have lots of cerith eggs all over the place behind my LR....

Cool. What type? I have a dozen or so baby Astreas right now at about 1 cm. I also see the ocassional baby cerith. No Margarita, Bumble bee, or Nassarius babies seen yet.

Hm, I can't ID them.... Ryland?

Just an update on my curled up white things in the aquarium.
--there are hundreds of them. I have a 60 gallon tank, and when examining the glass I see tons of them.
--If I remove it from the glass gently, it sinks.
--The biggest one does have an appendage. I actually caught it as it was retracting. (The "biggest" one is still small by normal standards.). I still am not sure what actually retracted...looks like it might have been sifting the water for food..like feather dusters.
--Turbo snails do not knock them over, or avoid them purposely.

That's all for now. I figure I have an infestation of something bad, or something really good.

Michael

They Stink?? wow, interesting, I've still got no idea what I have all over my glass now.... maybe I need a bigger magnifying glass.

They sink and stink?

lol, thats how rumours get started... Sorry