View Single Post
Unread 02/08/2010, 05:06 PM   #6
pagojoe
Team RC Member
 
pagojoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Conroe, TX
Posts: 2,761
Nassarius snails have a comparatively long planktonic period, where the veligers float in the water column. Some other snails are direct developers, and some such as trochids and turbinids have compartively very short planktonic periods. The shorter the time spent in the water column before settling, the more likely that the young will survive. To have Nassarius reproduce in your tank, you have to have the correct flow and not enough microfiltering to catch all the veligers, and you have to have a source of food for the tiny animals from the time they start feeding until they are large enough for you to see them crawling around, acting like small adults. It's tricky to set up the correct conditions, but it's been done for quite a few species, even ones that have extended pelagic periods. In a home aquarium, it mostly boils down to luck.

Cheers,



Don


pagojoe is offline   Reply With Quote