Snail giving birth from shell?

[bdmiller]

I have 2 astrea snails in my 10 gal. A few weeks ago I noticed some kind of dark red, almost black growth on their shells. I just thought it was some kind of algae. Well a few days ago I'm looking at one of them and I see two antennae come from this spot and then they would go back in. They kept going in and out. Is this how astreas reproduce?

 

Thanks for any help.

[Fant]

Nope its not any form of reproduction its just one various critter or another growing on the shell.

 

What lfs's have you been to or found in the area? I live about 10 min from Wyomissing. Best place iv found here is Somthing Fishy but its a decent drive up to north hampton.

[tinyreef]

sounds like a vermetid snail on top of your astrae. i'm having an explosion of these critters sucking out the planktonic food in my tanks.

 

the vermetid will issue forth a web to catch microscopic floating foods in the water column. the red/black growth normally has some spiral form to it at the base. the two antennae are usually very short protruding from the tube. it should be continually issuing the 'web' and 'reeling' it back in.

 

they're usually harmless (concerns more in blocking plumbing, pita). in my current case they're just competing with my pink cucumber for plankton, slowly starving him.

[bdmiller]

Thanks for the replies.

 

fant, There aren't many good lfs around here. The best one in Reading is Diane's Pet Center on Perkiomen Ave. They have about 10 saltwater tanks going. There is a Petco in Wyomissing, of course they sell no corals. The best lfs I've been to is That Pet Place in Lancaster. But that is like a 30+ mile drive for me.

 

How is Something Fishy? Is it worth the trip?

[Fant]

Damn, Diane's is horrible. I never bought anything there, i walked once through the store and left.

Something fishy is by far the best source in the area. That fish place isnt too bad, prices have gone up recently though.