Baby is growing! Conch? Snail?

[banik]

So, a month or two ago I saw a tiny, tiny little something crawling up my glass - maybe 1mm long. Given timing, I think it came in on a frag. The other evening, I saw this, which is the same thing but... bigger. Any ideas? It does have an eye stalk which is slightly blurry in the second picture. It's probably 1-1.2cm long in these.

Thanks for your insights!

 

[banik]

Are there resources I can use to help classify?

 

[Sir Bubb]

Columbellid maybe?

 

[cngh]

Looks like a nano conch (don't know the scientific name). But if so, reef safe and good grazer. Will reproduce quickly and easily if conditions are right. Lucky you! Free CUC!

 

[cngh]

Also, ask the person you got the frag from if they have these in their tank, see if they'll give some more

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

@ISpeakForTheSeas?

 

[banik]

Thanks all! It does look like a nano conch / columbellid. Hopefully there are two for some reproductive action!

 

[braaap]

Thanks all! It does look like a nano conch / columbellid. Hopefully there are two for some reproductive action!

From what I know they shouldn't need a mate. Most snails dont. You'll know if you see small clear sacks with 2-3 or so white dots in them. If your tank is healthy they usually reproduce in days.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, most likely a Dove Snail (Columbellid) of some variety - pics of the top, bottom, and sides of the shells under white light would be needed for a more a specific ID, as some of the species have very, very highly variable colors/patterns on the shells. Pics of the mantle/foot/proboscis under white light are also helpful.

From what I know they shouldn't need a mate. Most snails dont. You'll know if you see small clear sacks with 2-3 or so white dots in them. If your tank is healthy they usually reproduce in days.

To my knowledge, most snails do need a partner/partners to mate/spawn with; the ones that don't (typically land snails and some freshwater snails, to my knowledge) are either simultaneous hermaphrodites (both male and female at once) or parthenogenetic (i.e. they can produce eggs that divide even if not fertilized).

Columbellids are known to be gonochoristic (male/female) instead of hermaphroditic, and I'm not aware of any sea snail at the moment that is known to exhibit parthenogenesis - so these may or may not lay eggs without a partner, but they wouldn't be fertilized without one.

Regardless, the description of the egg sacks is spot on (as a note, these are not Strombus maculatus eggs):

This link has some great pics/video of the eggs (including a timelapse):

Snail Eggs

Just thought I'd share (pics taken over two days): I believe they are Strombus Eggs (Strombus maculatus).

www.nano-reef.com