Strombus Babies Coming Soon!

Starting on Valentine's Day (go figure) I noticed that my Strombus snails were starting to lay eggs in my fuge! Yay! I just counted the egg casings I could see and there are more than 30 down there!!!! I think one of them is still laying, too.

I had a turbo down there, and got tired of feeding it algae pieces after it cleaned everything up, so I moved it up top on Friday & noticed it had an egg casing on it too!

I'll try to get some pics, but they're in a really awkward spot...at least some are on the front corner. I love watching them develop into tiny snails before they break free and crawl away!

In the meantime, here's some old pics.

View attachment 38030

View attachment 38031

View attachment 38032

 

That is so cool Sushigirl, thanks for sharing. The detail of the images is very impressive.

 

The funny thing is you'll think none of them made it. Then 6 months from now, they'll finally be big enough for you to see them again.

 

Thanks Corailline, those were taken with my old Nikon point & shoot...it had a great macro function! I'm thinking about getting it fixed, cuz it won't focus anymore. It was great for taking tank pics.

Yeah, Inwall, they pretty much disappear for a while when they're growing up, then suddenly there they are! I'd been wanting some since I set back up, and figured I'd never find any, but a local LFS had some. I bought 5 as soon as I saw them LOL. He said most people don't know anything about them, so don't buy them.

Each of the casings has anywhere from 3 to 8 or so eggs in it, too!

 

Any idea how long they take to develop roughly?

 

You know, I really don't think I ever paid enough attention LOL. Seeing as they started on Valentine's Day, though, I can certainly keep track now! I think it's about a month, but I'll keep track this time.

 

Really nice pictures, especially the third one. It's easy to make out the tiny shells. Cool. 8)

 

What is the name of your LFS? I would like to contact them. I've been looking for them on lot's of suppliers wholesale lists and I've never once seen them. The only place I ever see them is at IPSF.com and that's awful expensive.

BTW, for the people looking for these, they have been mislabeled for so many years as Strombus maculatus. However, they really are a collumbellid sometimes called a Dove Snail. These (and Stomatella varia) are some of my favorite snails as both species go through direct benthic development and they never enter the planktonic stage. As a result, if there is enough food, they'll breed for you. If there isn't enough food, they don't reproduce.

 

Yeah, they're really not Strombus maculatus. The ones I had in the past were from IPSF.com. The LFS I got them from is called Fish Paradise in Fort Worth. I'll PM you their phone number. The guy said most places don't get them, and most people don't buy them because they're small. He thought it was funny I was so excited about them, and he was surprised I knew anything about them!

 

I think I have some of these as well. I've seen similar eggs in my tank, and they reproduce. There are a bunch of tiny ones, especially in the sump on the chaeto. They are smaller, around 1/2" or so. I got them from a fellow reefer who said that they were his favorite snail, and that they reproduced well for him. I'll get a pic.