What is this??

[SeaJelly]

I just noticed this weird large squiggly thing on the back wall of my tank. What is this??? There are also white dots everywhere on the back wall too…

 

[littlefoxx]

I think snail eggs. Do you have snails?

 

[SeaJelly]

I think snail eggs. Do you have snails?

I do have snails. Should I do anything? Will they hatch?

 

[littlefoxx]

I do have snails. Should I do anything? Will they hatch?

Ive always left them. Never seen mine hatch. @ISpeakForTheSeas might know if they can hatch though

 

[tbrown]

They look like Cerith Snails. I think the likelihood of them hatching and surviving to become snails is low, especially in a reef tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

cerith snail eggs and likely will be eaten before they hatch which requires cooler temps for best chance

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Ive always left them. Never seen mine hatch. @ISpeakForTheSeas might know if they can hatch though

As mentioned, the squiggles are Cerith eggs; the dots aren't clear enough to say for sure, but they're most likely either Nerite eggs or Spirorbid worm tubes (Spirorbid worms are harmless filter feeders).

The eggs will probably hatch but not survive - most snails we keep hatch as pelagic larvae (so they swim at birth); as a result, they get eaten, removed by filtration, killed by equipment, etc. (they also need specific foods that our tanks don't usually have, so they also tend to starve). A few snails we keep hatch as benthic larvae (crawling around and basically just being mini adult snails); these ones tend to survive in our tanks.

Some people have reportedly had Cerith larvae survive successfully in their tanks, but I wouldn't expect it in most cases.