Trochus Mass Spawning

[NaH2O]

Sunday morning I was staring at the tank, and noticed one love sick trochus releasing sperm several times into the water. Soon after, I began seeing what I thought were microbubbles in the tank. I checked out all the plumbing to figure out where they were coming from, as they didn't appear until the motorized ball valve switched sides. As I tried to reset my brain, I realized the "microbubbles" weren't bubbles at all, but eggs being released by another trochus. It wasn't too long after that a few other snails were releasing eggs into the water, as well. They were coming from everywhere, and my tank started to look like a blizzard was going on. Needless to say, my blenny was happy (he hung out over the snails just waiting for a tasty treat), and thank goodness for a good skimmer. I have been trying to figure out what induced this to happen....I did a 20 gallon water change the night before. The only thing I came across was temperature change, but my new water was only ~2 degrees F different than the tank. Here is a quote from this site: Farming Trochus

The adults can be induced to spawn using a 'temperature shock' method (Lee, 1997). At sunset, the water temperature in the holding tank is raised by 2 - 3C and maintained. Periodically, the spawning tank is drained and 'new' seawater is added. Adults will usually commence spawning within one hour, although sometimes this procedure needs to be repeated.

I don't think the temperature swing was high enough to induce this in my tank. There wasn't a full moon the night before, and it happened shortly after lights came on. A mystery, but cool none-the-less. I did manage to capture a picture of eggs being released from one of the snails on the side of the tank.

 

[Curtswearing]

Cool....I would have loved to have seen that. Great pic!!!

 

[MtnDewMan]

That's awesome Nikki ... Good picture of the event. Have you ever seen the picture of my clams that spawned a while back?

 

[Noonan]

Thats really cool. Time to become a snail farmer.. lol

 

[mattseattle]

my margarita's do that quite often. i never really seen a pattern in their spawning behavior. i don't think it's a temperature swing that causes it in my situation. i used to think it was pH but since I've installed a pH monitor i've come to the conclusion that isn't the reason either. so who knows.....it's pretty wild to watch. so far i don't have any baby snails either.

 

[CarlaW]

My astreas spawned about a month ago. I agree, it is quite a shock to wake up and see the tank really cloudy. Nikki, was this the first time this had happened to you? It was my first mass spawning event and until I figured out what was goin on........................

 

[NaH2O]

Yeah Matt - with a filter sock and heavy duty skimmer, I don't think any will make it. Besides, my blenny was doing everything he could to keep that from happening

The only reason I thought temperature was the culprit was because of the statement I quoted above. It was neat to watch - it went on for about 2 - 2-1/2 hours before they finally stopped.

Chuck - I have not seen the pics of your clams spawing that I remember. Could you post them, or link me?

 

[NaH2O]

Charlie - my tank didn't look cloudy, but looked as though it was filled with microbubbles. Yeah I haven't experienced a mass spawn like that before - I freaked because I thought something happened to my plumbing. When I stopped the "freak out", I looked in the tank and realized they weren't micro bubbles at all.....putting the fact that I saw the sperm being released and watching the eggs come out of a different snail - I knew what I was dealing with. I have to work on "thinking" before "freaking", I guess. (although with all the drama of my plumbing, you would understand why )

 

[CarlaW]

I honestly thought that something in my fuge had gone sexual, then I remembered, that had happened 3 weeks before that!!!! I guess look before you leap could be a good analogy! I do know that my corals loved what was goin on, I had never seen such good polyp extension

 

[MtnDewMan]

Nikki,

These two clams spawned together ... one is releasing the sperm, the other the eggs. It was a pretty amazing event.

 

[NaH2O]

Chuck that is awesome!

 

[LakeEd]

Those are SUPER pic's Chuck!

 

[RockyHeap]

Great Money Shot Chuck!

And of course Nikki had to lay the eggs.... :badgrin:

<grins>

 

[Angelscrx]

my margarita's do that quite often. i never really seen a pattern in their spawning behavior. i don't think it's a temperature swing that causes it in my situation. i used to think it was pH but since I've installed a pH monitor i've come to the conclusion that isn't the reason either. so who knows.....it's pretty wild to watch. so far i don't have any baby snails either.

Where did you get your PH monitor?

 

[NaH2O]

Many of our sponsors carry pH monitors. If you go to the sponsor's page you can check out various vendors. Some of the sponsors have coupons that you can utilize as well. I know Captive Reefs offers 6% off with coupon code RF, and Custom aquatic has 5% off. You can browse the sponsors and see what is available, then send a PM (all the sponsors have their own forum here) if you are unsure of a RF discount.

Hope that helps! pH monitors are a great tool

 

[mattseattle]

hey there,

i bought my pH monitor from marine depot. they had a special on the American Marine pH monitor for 70.00. cheapest place i could find it even if you factored in discounts from our sponsors. i usually always try to buy from our sponsors but on the other hand i also need to find the best price.

 

[Angelscrx]

Many of our sponsors carry pH monitors. If you go to the sponsor's page you can check out various vendors. Some of the sponsors have coupons that you can utilize as well. I know Captive Reefs offers 6% off with coupon code RF, and Custom aquatic has 5% off. You can browse the sponsors and see what is available, then send a PM (all the sponsors have their own forum here) if you are unsure of a RF discount.

Hope that helps! pH monitors are a great tool

Thanks a million. I will check it out.

 

[Curtswearing]

That Is So Cool!!!

 

[NaH2O]

Well.....if I didn't see it, I never would have believed it. Despite my flow, filter sock usage, and monster skimmer, I have baby trochus snails. I've seen about 1/2 dozen or so crawling around the rock at a single time. They are very tiny, but busy eating away. I believe my success had to do with the amount of hair algae in my tank. Here is a shot of one:

 

[Curtswearing]

It's interesting that their shells develop the same coloration as their parents when they are that young. I would have thought that the coloration would slowly change as the snail matures.