snail eggs

[ItzJustinN]

so today i woke up with what im pretty sure are snail eggs. i have two different kinds. the first type has 3 white bubbles with yellow eggs in them that number around 30 each. these are very large in comparison to the second batch which are in 2 clear bubbles with white eggs that number around 10 each.

i ordered nerites, dwarf ceriths, and nassarious vibex. im hoping its the nassarious/nerites that are reproducing but i really dont know. i was hoping you would be able to tell me and if they will hatch. i have no fish in the tank right now. how long would it take to hatch and do they need any special care? i was hoping to hatch them, keep a few narrasious/nerites and donate the rest to my local reef club.

[ItzJustinN]

here is a pic of the larger

http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/3313/img4708y.jpg

[reefcleaners]

The larger ones are nerites, the second sound like Florida Ceriths.

[ItzJustinN]

cool. i had a feeling the smaller ones were the ceriths. how long will they take to hatch. my clownfish are due to go in my tank in about a week but id really like these snails to hatch.

[SushiGirl]

They usually don't hatch, they'll dissolve away. Nerites require intertidal conditions to hatch, which doesn't happen in our tanks. I've heard a couple of people say they've had dwarf cerith eggs hatch, but I never saw any pics to back it up.

[reefcleaners]

They hatch, it is just that both species have prolonged larval states and starve or become pump/fish casualities. Dwarf ceriths have reproduced in our tanks, just not that well. Out of a patch of eggs you may get a handful, but they are successful sometimes, keep an eye out for little black dots crawling around. I have heard the intertidal thing too, but I think it might depend on which species of nerite. There are many nerite species and they live in different environments. Yours are Antillean nerites, I very rarely see their eggs above the low tide line. When they hatch the top of the egg opens up and you have a ring where the egg used to be for a few days and then the remainder will dissolve.

[SushiGirl]

Great to know, thanks!

[balto777]

What a coincidence . . . my snails I just got last week from ReefCleaners also laid eggs. Very cool.

[reefcleaners]

It is a seasonal thing, even in captivity they know what time of year it is. If you check for threads about snail eggs I bet you see that most are posted from May- August. What is odd is that you will see them stop laying eggs after season is over even though your tank stays the same temperature.