Tropical Fish Keeping - Aquarium fish care and resources

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Originally Posted by ilovecarljohn (Post 161208)

I have a golden apple snail and a black mystery snail i was wondering if the 2 of them are cappable of breeding togeather and if so how to tell the gender and how to encorage them to breed and how to tell if they are or do breed?

There is no such thing as 'black' when you are referring to the mystery snails (Pomacea diffusa). I suggest you take the snail out and shine different lighting spectrums on the shells. It is most likely dark green or dark purple. There is no solid black.

What species is this golden apple snail? Pomacea canaliculata? Where did you get this snail? Do you have pics? It could be a cana, diffusa or insularum as the name is a blanket term covering several species in the process.

Sexing can be explained by the pictures here.
How to Sex Your Apple Snails

I made a database on this snail. Here are some snippets about sexing and breeding. Leave 2-3 inches space above the waterline. Just as a warning, do not encourage your snails to eat meat, not even tuna. This triggers a very unusual behavior that will lead them to target their fishy tankmates for food.

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These snails are sexual and therefore need a partner in order to breed. They are not sexually matured until they reach 2.5 cm in size. It is not easy to distinguish their sexes however if you can remove the snail out of the water and observe closely the right side of its body, you may find the penis sheath in there. This will tell you the snail is a male. Another way is when they copulate. Males are often found clinging at the right side of their fellow snails. You will know by then the one clinging is a male. Males will attempt to copulate with anyone so the snail they may be clinging could be a male or a female.

They lay clutches of pale pink to white eggs above the waterline containing 200-600 eggs. The eggs must be kept in warm humid conditions. Removing them from their location involves using a razor blade without crushing them. Wait for 24 hours for the eggs to harden before removing them. Place the clutch in damp paper towel or filter floss afterwards. The eggs will become lighter as time progresses. You can tell when the eggs are about to hatch when they break easily as you touch or attempt to move them. The hatchlings may need a little assistance in this case. You can gently swish the eggs in the water so they fall off to the bottom although most hatchlings are able to find their way to the water. The hatchlings will remain hidden from view most of the time so be patient. They will eventually show up. They are colorless but the colors should eventually darken after a week. They will grow rapidly at this point.