What is my Stomatella snail doing?

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vetteguy53081

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I have about 3 Stomatella snails in my 75 gallon tank and noticed that one of them is secreting cloudy stuff into the water. Is this how they excrete waste or is this some kind of mating behavior?

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Spawning. Especially during daylight, they have been observed releasing sperm and eggs into the water leaving tank Temporarilt cloudy looking. They breed readily but rarely leave a tank with a bunch of babies.
 
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Spawning. Especially during daylight, they have been observed releasing sperm and eggs into the water leaving tank Temporarilt cloudy looking. They breed readily but rarely leave a tank with a bunch of babies.
That's cool! I've only seen one of them do this. Don't they have to synchronize to produce offspring? I wonder how they do that hm....
 
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vetteguy53081

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That's cool! I've only seen one of them do this. Don't they have to synchronize to produce offspring? I wonder how they do that hm....
Stomatella are wierd yet wonderful creatures not to mentioned being fantastic algae eaters and are A-sexual- not requiring mate to breed
 
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Correct, simultaneous hermaphrodites, but apparently they can’t self-fertilize so you'll need more than one for reproduction:

https://www.saltwateraquariumblog.com/stomatella-snail-care-guide/

Understandably, I think some have drawn the conclusion that one alone can reproduce when the reef keeper may only observe one in their system. But since they are nocturnal/secretive, if babies appear it means that there is more than one.
 
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takitaj

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I started with one that came in on a frag plug. Months later I have probably a hundred or more. They're everywhere including the sump. No refugium and stays dark unless I'm working under there. There are lots of pineapple sponges there but no algae. Whenever I clean equipment or the Nori clip there's always at least one or two hiding inside. I've never seen any eggs. They come out mostly at night and will cover most of the front glass of a 4' 75 gal between cleanings. Almost plague proportions lol. All from one snail. I love it!

Same thing happened with one Amphipod. My Wrasse is really healthy. :)
 

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I started with one that came in on a frag plug. Months later I have probably a hundred or more. They're everywhere including the sump. No refugium and stays dark unless I'm working under there. There are lots of pineapple sponges there but no algae. Whenever I clean equipment or the Nori clip there's always at least one or two hiding inside. I've never seen any eggs. They come out mostly at night and will cover most of the front glass of a 4' 75 gal between cleanings. Almost plague proportions lol. All from one snail. I love it!

Same thing happened with one Amphipod. My Wrasse is really healthy. :)
Neither stomatellas not amphipods can reproduce without a mate.
 
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Neither stomatellas not amphipods can reproduce without a mate.

I can't disagree. I'm certain there were only one of each when they were introduced. Perhaps the plugs they came in on had eggs hiding on them. I didn't see any or I would have scrubbed them off, not knowing what they were at the time. Fortunately there was nothing else nasty on them! My tank is mostly SPS. Eyesight is the first thing to go as one gets older. lol Either way, happily, they both reproduce prolifically!
 
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Polyp polynomial: How many heads do you start with when buying zoas?

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