snail thing

[jschoon]

If I can ever get a clear picture of this I will post. Until then maybe with a good description someone can ID.

I now see 2 of these small snail type creatures. They are more body then shell. Total length (measured while moving across the glass) is about 1 - 1.5 cm, with the shell being quite small (about half of the body). The shell is fairly flat (not large like a turbo or nassarius or astraea) and an iridescent green. I see these guys mostly at night, however, today they were both making little puffs of "smoke". They had positioned themselves on the rocks one over the other. I tried to get a picture but by time I got my camera and put in batteries, they were hidden back into the rock.

Any thoughts? Like I said when I started, I will get a picture soon. But these guys hide well and are pretty small. And I don't have a very fancy camera (yet) that could capture them with enough quality to aid in ID.

 

[jschoon]

Well here is what I can get with my camera. I will keep trying.

 

[Anonymous]

Can't make out much from your pictures but it sound like you have a pair of spawning Stomatella sp., a common herbivorous hitchhiker.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I agree, those are stomatella snails. They'll breed in the tank and they are excellent tank inhabitants. You can leave them alone with no worries that they'll eat desirable organisms or overpopulate themselves.

jayo

 

[jschoon]

First, thanks foe the ID.

Tonight I just noticed some small thread looking little things on the glass. I am talking just a mm or so long and they look like little pieces of thread slithering along. could those be offspring?

 

[Anonymous]

First, thanks foe the ID.

Tonight I just noticed some small thread looking little things on the glass. I am talking just a mm or so long and they look like little pieces of thread slithering along. could those be offspring?

No, those would be a species of Polychaeta (worm), most likely harmless detritivores.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[iseeweed]

I noticed the same thing in my tank of about 5 months old. I also saw the snail blow out the "smoky" stuff. I think the small "microscopic" things on the glass may be offspring. I got the same critters on my glass. They look like baby snails to me.