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*** Apple Snail Egg Care ***

10K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  chirpchirp 
#1 ·
Hi there! Second post on the forums, Hoorah!
I have finally received two lovely clutches of apple snail eggs up on the side of the glass, the water level was running low so I need to top it up however this will mean that the egg clutches will be submerged some what.

Can anyone please give me some tips, insight and possible methods/solutions for removing the clutches and looking after them in a way that they are safe, and will hatch?

Any ideas would be marvellous... Thanks in advance!

Meg
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#2 ·
Hi and welcome to TFK

You can remove them, just do it slowly.
But it is best if you leave them be.
They should hatch in +-3 weeks.
Don't submerge them as this will kill them.

If you do remove them put them in a tub on a slight angel wet them slightly on the bottom(this will let the stick again) and put just a little bit of water in the tub so that they are still dry,wen they hatch they will go in to the water.(I have don this myself and it works very well)



Nicolaas.
 
#3 ·
I should warn you, you can easily get 100 eggs per clutch. I would -highly- recommend you only let part of the clutch hatch to prevent overwhelming yourself. IF you do want to remove the clutch just use a little paper towel and gently tug/pull. I'd pull sideways. For artificial hatching you can either wrap in a damp (not wet) paper towel and place in an partly sealed zip loc baggie. And float in the tank. (I used this method). I have also heard of people setting them on pieces of canvas (the craft kind) or tooth picks with a bit of water in the bottom of a container. Again floating in a tank.

I really do recommend you dispose of one or part of both clutches. I knew someone who let a couple of clutches hatch and was quickly overwhelmed. I will share a useful bit of advice when it comes to apple snails and eggs.

1. Do you have enough room?
Yes, it's wonderful to know that the conditions in your tank have spurred your young lovers into mating and laying. Yet when you consider that most clutches contain up to 200 young hatchlings that will eventually demand a minimum of 2 gallons of tank space each, can you afford to hatch the whole clutch?

2. Do you have the proper foods?
Contrary to what the LFS may tell you, only the young hatchlings eat algae and that's only until they are large enough to travel to another food source. So you'll have to come up with some proper foods and that will cost you a bit. Not bad when it's only a few snails, but much harder when it's dozens and dozens of snails.

3. Do you have enough filtration?
Snails eat a lot and poop a lot. Experience has shown that you need to at least double the filtration on your tank. Otherwise you will be doing many, many water changes to keep the tank within normal limits.

4. Do you have a home for your snails?
After they've gotten to be pea-sized they are ready to be shipped or traded to the LFS. Do you have these contacts in place already? Do you know how to properly ship snails? And more importantly now...do you have a permit to ship them?

If you've answered no to any of the above, then maybe you better reconsider hatching the whole clutch. You can break off a piece of the clutch and try to hatch a smaller, and more manageable, amount of snails. The extra clutches can be disposed of in a responsible manner (not outside near ponds and water sources). This way you can still share in the excitement of raising snails, without some of the mishaps of having too many.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the advice I really do appreciate it :)
My fiancé is a bit of a fanatic when it comes to tanks and we have at the moment 18 tanks average of 60_90 gals each incl a huge pond and water feature outside so room is certainly not an issue and the LFS is crying out for apple snails so I said if I have any luck hatching clutches I am more than happy to sell to them.

For now the snails are only in one tank so as I have full control of the population and of dispersment of the snails.

For now ( I did this while waiting for replies) using a laminated card I gently scrapped the clutch from the glass and placed it on a rectangular block of styrofoam and placed it floating in the tank in one of the baby catchers so if and when it hatches it will still be containable. I have cut a piece of paper towel just smaller than the styrofoam rectangle and I dunk it in tank water then ring it out so there is no dripping water or anything its just damp then place that over the top due to lights etc it gradually has dried out a couple of times but I have switched on the light on the other side of the tank and am kind of on and off using the light on the clutches side of the tank. Anyways so I keep re wetting and wringing out the paper towel and gently placing it back on top of them.

Any thoughts on this method? I thought of it while looking through the house trying to get ideas for the situation.

They are yellow or gold I think some call them apple snails and I am wondering if anyone could give me an indication on what the eggs should look like colour / texture wise or maybe what they shouldn't look like too :)
Unfortunately I can not upload pictures at this stage as my camera on my phone is completely bonkers st the moment. Thanks guys!

Meg
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#10 ·
Thanks for the photos Silverfang gives me a good idea for sure :)
Mine are more like the first one but perhaps a slightly paler pink?
What do you think of my current method of looking after the clutches as witten above in the long post, do you think it will be suitable?

Thanku :)
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#11 ·
UPDATE: one snail is write up the top of the tank wall at the back and I still have one light on so obviously not shy... I wonder if I will be seeing some eggs emerge.
Does anyone know how long it takes for them to lay their clutch? Would love to watch it but it is 11 30 and after some emergency dental stitches yesterday night after having a wisdom tooth pulled last Saturday I think sleep would be nice but just... SO INTRIGUING! :D
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#13 ·
Unfortunately I feel asleep right there in the chair infront of the fish.. Haven't got out of bed yet to have a look at the tank but my rottie Gus just came and gave me a big good morning lick on the face so awake now and no doubt will be looking fairly soon. Would love to see you're photos of you have a chance to post them.

Let me know what you think of my current method of looking after the eggs on the styrofoam with the paper towel Silverfang, you sound like you've done this a lot so would love to get you're opinion on it,:)

I love some of the different apple snail colours but in australia I have only ever seen or really heard of the yellow / gold ones ... Love the different blues and purples
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#14 · (Edited)
Keeping the air moist, but the eggs not damp is what's important. I wouldn't say I have alot of experience, but I bugged some people who did. A shame Lupin isn't around these days. He was quite the snail expert.

Also, that shouldn't be a bad idea. Let me know how it works. Just make sure the paper towel is damp, not really wet.
 
#17 ·
Poop I'm in Australia so that makes things a bit difficult lol.
Unfortunately the eggs got flipped over so bye bye to them!

Very very very eagerly awaiting more none the less. I wake up every AM and check the tanks with the apple snails in them and hunt down ever nook and cranny for potential egg laying.sites!... So far no luck :(

I wish there was a way I could entice them to breed / lay eggs but no idea. Some form of food aphrodisiac lol. I wish the same for guppies some times too! I'm sure someone out there has a random way for one or the other. lol. :)

Meg
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