Abalone reproducing?     7/2/07
Hello everyone,
First off, thanks for your efforts. Is it possible that I have Abalone reproducing in my tank?
<It's possible, yes... is it likely? Hmm... probably not.>
I have purchased large ones before, and they have not survived long.
<Sorry to hear that. It seems that some species do better in reef tanks than others. For more info on them, please see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/abalones.htm >
for the last couple of months I have noticed them all over the walls of my tank (at least 50 of them.) They have rounded shells and are a quarter inch in sized down to tiny little specs. They look like the abalone I have purchased before, but much much smaller, their shells are basically flat. They do a great job of cleaning the walls of my tank considering I do not have any another Snail type creatures. Thanks for the help.
<Well, without a picture, I'm thinking they might be Stomatella. These are small snails with a mostly flat shell that reproduce quite easily in reef aquariums. They do look a bit like little abalones. They're also really great snails to have (good algae grazers and truly as reef-safe as anything can be). Here's a good picture of one:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/MolluscPIX/Gastropods/Stomatella-w-Zoos.jpg
For more pictures, there are some here (though not all the pics are Stomatella):
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snailidfaq5.htm
Thanks
Ryan from Denver
<No prob.
Sara M.>