Baby turbo snails?

[stuc]

Recently I noticed two of my turbo snails were not moving around much. They were together for a couple of days on the side of my tank.

I then noticed a cloud coming from them.

Now I have hundreds of white dots around 0.5 - 1mm in diameter. On closer inspection they are actually littled white swirls.

Are my turbo snails breeding.

I'll try and get a pic but they are so small.

[Eddie S]

sounds like it to me. You may be lucky and have some grow to adulthood. Although you may find that something in your tank decides that the little white dots are quite tasty. You will also need good calcium levels etc as hundreds of bubbies all growing new shells may have an impact or not having enough calc may mean that they dont survive.

try doing a search as i think that this has been discussed before

good luck

Eddie

[stuc]

Hi,

heres a pic of one of them.

http://www.conroy.co.uk/IMG_2243.jpg

[Reef bloke]

Nope,im afraid they are tiny tube worms by the look of it.

[stuc]

Would that be good or bad?

I'm not convinced they are worms though as all are exactly the same swirl and not moving.

I'll see if I can get a better pic.

[jimdon IOM]

Agree with Reefbloke, they are small tube worms. baby snails would be moving.
they are not a bad thing. just scrape them off from anywhere you don't want them, like the front glass, outlet strainers, inside the skimmer etc.

Jim

[zpyder]

Could the snails not have some kind of planktonic veliger stage before becoming "snail like" in shape? obviously these guys are attached to the glass though?

[jimdon IOM]

No snails do not have a veliger/ larval stage, they hatch directly from the eggs, which are usually laid attached to the substrate or Glass in a jelly like blob or string, and they hatch as little minature versions of the adult albeit that at that stage they have a very small soft shell that hardens and grows over the first few hours/days, hence most of them in a tank will be predated in their first few hours, thats always assuming the eggs last long enough to even hatch with out being eaten.

Jim

[stuc]

They cover both glass and rocks.

[stuc]

Heres a slightly better pic.

I took this without flash and it looks more how it looks as it really isn't transparant but white in appearance.

At first view I thought they were grains of sand.

http://www.conroy.co.uk/IMG_2248.jpg

[Eddie S]

they hatch directly from the eggs, which are usually laid attached to the substrate or Glass in a jelly like blob or string,

IME turbos release clouds of eggs and sperm into the water column. Usually seeking out high spots on the rock work with good flow around them. How they all coordinate their group spawning is a mystery to me.

Dove snails do lay eggs in small clear round capsules, usually with half a dozen or so small white eggs in them.

Eddie

[stuc]

Thanks for all your replies.

If it is tube worms how big do they get, what do they do?

I reckon there is probably 500 - 1000 in the tank. Should I remove them or will they cause no harm?

[jimdon IOM]

Yes sorry should have made that clearer, Astrea's do produce demersal eggs, but iirc development is direct and not via a larval stage. the eggs sink as they develop, attach, and hatch a baby adult.

[jimdon IOM]

Hi Stuc
they stay small, they will do no harm, just scrape off the ones that are in the wrong place.

Jim