Do snails have a breeding season in reef tanks?

[Sharkbait19]

Hi,
A couple days ago, my nassarius snails laid eggs, the first time I’ve had a snail successfully lay eggs in my tank. Today, my nerites followed suit and laid eggs. Soon after, my ceriths also did so. I would have assumed that given no true weather patterns in a tank, the inhabitants would have no way of telling what season it is and wouldn’t have an indication of when to breed. Yet all of my snails laid eggs during the same time frame. Do snails still lay their eggs at a certain point, even in an aquarium, or is it more so when the water conditions are ideal? I did a larger than normal water change a few days ago in response to leather coral warfare. Could that water change have triggered the snails to lay eggs, or is it just coincidence that the snails all did this at the same time?

 

[davidcalgary29]

Hi,
A couple days ago, my nassarius snails laid eggs, the first time I’ve had a snail successfully lay eggs in my tank. Today, my nerites followed suit and laid eggs. Soon after, my ceriths also did so. I would have assumed that given no true weather patterns in a tank, the inhabitants would have no way of telling what season it is and wouldn’t have an indication of when to breed. Yet all my snails laid eggs during the same time frame. Do snails still lay their eggs at a certain point, even in an aquarium, or is it more so when the water conditions are ideal. I did a larger than normal water change a few days ago in response to leather coral warfare. Could that water change have triggered the snails to lay eggs, or is it just coincidence that the snails all did this at the same time?

I'd say -- generally -- no, but aquatic creatures are a lot more sensitive to small changes in their environment than we are, and respond accordingly. The upcoming 'super' full moon on the 14th, maximal insolation in the northern hemisphere, and warm(er) temperatures all likely played a part in this. I saw this many times in the Bahamas, when relatively small changes in natural rhythms of the year -- a "fuller" moon, or perhaps the spring equinox -- would result in massive spawning events from multiple species within a few short days.

 

[Microcosm Reefer]

Ancedotal... I was running my refugium 24/7 with a few cerith snails... day after I switched to 12 hour I had eggs on the glass. Next few days I had new egg deposits after lights out.