Why do some snails reproduce in aquarium and others don't?

Why do Collonista, Stomatella, Rissoid, Pyramidellid, etc snails reproduce readily in typical reef aquariums without any intervention where Trochus, Astraea, Turbo, Ring Cowrie, etc don't?

Hi EasterEggs,

This may just come down to providing the right conditions for the broodstock and larvae. I have no problems getting trochus to reproduce with little intervention from me. Simply triggering a spawn with a water change and providing somewhere for the larvae to settle is all that it takes. It may be that something is missing from the typical reef aquarium which prevents some species from successfully reproducing.

Graham

Trochus are one of the asier ones, as long as you have diatoms for them to graze on
 
The rest I suspect are the life cycles...

As you've noted, stomatellas reproduce fine and they are broadcast spawners. So, I somewhat doubt that the problem lies in method of reproduction (broadcast spawning vs. direct sexual intercourse).
 
Mainly, my guess would be that the difference is whether the larvae have a pelagic phase and, if so, how long that pelagic phase lasts and also whether the larvae need to eat during their pelagic phase. I have snails that are direct developers (no pelagic phase) that reproduce great. I have snails that look like they have a short, possibly non-eating, pelagic phase and they reproduce okay (but not great). I would assume that those that need to be in the water column longer have worse chances of making it.
 
Snails are pretty much all over the map with regard to styles of reproduction and the larval development process. There are some snails that can last years (and have been maintained for years in the lab) as pelagic larvae before they finally find the right conditions to go through metamorphosis. It may also be that our aquaria are lacking in whatever settlement cues some species need to get through meta.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

 
Ah, I think herein lies the light!  I thought all snails generally reproduced the same way.
 
Anyone know a good paper or article that talks about the common species kept in reef tanks?  I would love to learn more about the reproduction cycle of common snails.

Well, here's a start : http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/11/aafeature
 
And here's another: http://www.ummfish.com/photo_essay.php?name=first&t=RSF_Cerith
 

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Do any of the private Shimek PDFs have snail breeding info in them?  I have not looked at those since Project Dibs was active.

I'm sure there must be some in there. Looks like lecture 5 has a big snail on the cover ( ). I learned a hell of a lot from that course, both Ron's readings and going through the biology book he recommended (http://www.amazon.com/Invertebrate-Zoology-Functional-Evolutionary-Approach/dp/0030259827/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&qid=1336271074&sr=8-54) and also the fantastic Strathmann book (http://www.amazon.com/Reproduction-Development-Invertebrates-Northern-Pacific/dp/0295965231/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1336271124&sr=8-3).

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

He does include a link to this, which is a cool freaking movie: http://celldynamics.org/celldynamics/gallery/movieWindows/timelapse/limacina.html
 
He says this in Lecture 8, p. 4:
 

 
Lots of stuff in there is good for molluscs in general, just as general biology. And a lot of it pretty much applies to every invert.
 
This is a good paper: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=on%20feeding%20mechanisms%20and%20clearance%20rates%20of%20molluscan%09veligers&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CFgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Flibres.uncg.edu%2Fir%2Funcg%2Ff%2FE_Leise_On_1979.pdf&ei=7OSlT5eTAsLa0QHqhfykBQ&usg=AFQjCNEBka4EIVSraaUg_pFIkc9h3SlnLg
 
This is a great (and scary) paper if you can find it: An Extraordinarily Long Larval Duration of 4.5 Years from Hatching to Metamorphosis for Teleplanic Veligers of Fusitriton oregonensis.
 
This is good, too, if you can find it: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2097052?uid=3739568&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21100773330241

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

4,5 YEARS ?????????
We should stop complaining about "long" larval phase right now. lol

Anderson.

Absolutely. And they kept the larvae going that long. It's freaking incredible. Here's the abstract:
 

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Thanks for all the links!  It will take me some time to go through it all! 

Most of them are fairly small papers but like any science paper they tend to be pretty dense. The books are key, especially the Strathmann. It doesn't cover tropical species but there's a lot of overlap. And, honestly, there's nothing like it for tropical species. The whole thing is a little dated now, but it's one-of-a-kind.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886