What eggs are these?

[Fishy888]

I purchased two nassarius snails today. One has what I’m sure are the eggs of some other snail. I’m just not sure what kind of snail. Here’s a picture. I just know it’s not something I see everyday exactly. Thank you.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I purchased two nassarius snails today. One has what I’m sure are the eggs of some other snail. I’m just not sure what kind of snail. Here’s a picture. I just know it’s not something I see everyday exactly. Thank you.

Can you get some straight-on, top-down pics of the eggs (so that we're looking straight at them in the pic rather than looking at them from the side like this)?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I purchased two nassarius snails today. One has what I’m sure are the eggs of some other snail. I’m just not sure what kind of snail. Here’s a picture. I just know it’s not something I see everyday exactly. Thank you.

Looks like eggs of a whelk snail

 

[Fishy888]

Looks like eggs of a whelk snail

Oh. Hopefully none hatch if that’s the case. I want to have clams. Nassarius snails are still wild caught, no?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Oh. Hopefully none hatch if that’s the case. I want to have clams. Nassarius snails are still wild caught, no?

Hatch rate extremely low as they do best in cooler temps

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Nassarius snails are still wild caught, no?

To my knowledge, pretty much all snails (and pretty much all inverts) in the hobby are still wild caught. To date, I'm only aware of three Nassarius snail species that have been aquacultured, and I'm not aware of anyone/any company actively breeding them.

Also, whelk is a very broad term that technically refers to any species from the family Buccinidae (though the term is frequently used to indicate any predatory snail, which is an ever broader category), and some of these species are tropical (and as such, will do perfectly fine at/require tropical temps). From what I've seen, the pattern the eggs are in in that pic is a very uncommon pattern for snails, so I'd personally feel more comfortable trying to give an ID with a few more white light pics. That said, if they are whelk eggs, the young will most likely come out as pelagic larvae (called veligers), and they'll most likely all die (get eaten, skimmed out, etc.).

 

[Labridaedicted]

Whelks don't prey exclusively on claims, either. Some feed on snails, as well. This might explain the eggs on the snail

 

[Fishy888]

Hatch rate extremely low as they do best in cooler temps

Thank you. I’m glad they won’t become a problem.

 

[Fishy888]

Whelks don't prey exclusively on claims, either. Some feed on snails, as well. This might explain the eggs on the snail

Good point.

 

[Fishy888]

To my knowledge, pretty much all snails (and pretty much all inverts) in the hobby are still wild caught. To date, I'm only aware of three Nassarius snail species that have been aquacultured, and I'm not aware of anyone/any company actively breeding them.

Also, whelk is a very broad term that technically refers to any species from the family Buccinidae (though the term is frequently used to indicate any predatory snail, which is an ever broader category), and some of these species are tropical (and as such, will do perfectly fine at/require tropical temps). From what I've seen, the pattern the eggs are in in that pic is a very uncommon pattern for snails, so I'd personally feel more comfortable trying to give an ID with a few more white light pics. That said, if they are whelk eggs, the young will most likely come out as pelagic larvae (called veligers), and they'll most likely all die (get eaten, skimmed out, etc.).

I thought they were still wild caught. If they were nassarius or cerith eggs I would have tried to raise the veligers as best as I could. I used to breed ghost shrimp when I had a planted tank. I didn’t have a perfect record but I certainly got young that made it all the way. Whelk eggs are persona non gratis in my system. I’m not at home right now but once I get there I’ll feed the tank. When the nassarius with the eggs comes out I’ll get much better pictures hopefully.