[sugar379c]

My snails have been busy! Two clutches laid on my tank glass two nights ago and a third clutch is in process right now! I've decided to let them hatch naturally and have left them in the tank. I've been gently wetting them with tank water using a turkey baster every evening to make sure they stay moist. Any tips for a first timer? I've never had aquatic babies of any form before. Thanks!

 

[Sylverclaws]

When mine laid eggs, I popped a plastic breeding net under the eggs. If you can fit one under without bumping the nest, I recommend it. When the babies hatched they fell into that, this way they did not get lost in my tank or eaten when I vacuumed(or by my fish and other snails!). Makes it easier to clean up after them and feed them if you keep the hatched babies in a net. I put in some java moss for them to hang out on and nibble if they desired, along with fresh foods I prepared and...uh...algae wafers, the good ones I think(they didn't have many additives, I just can't recall who makes them. They had spirulina in them, mostly plant matter, I believe it was omega one, not sure though. Hikari isn't too bad, but I think the others are better). You can feed them blanched zucchini and cucumber(remove the seeds!) and some other fresh, blanched veggies. They'll eat well and grow quickly.

As for misting, I suggest you get an actual mister, or spray bottle and spritz them 2-3 times per day, just one squirt.

 

[sugar379c]

Now there's 4 clutches of snail eggs! Everytime I leave the house, I come back and there's more eggs!

 

[Sylverclaws]

Like livebearing fish, these guys can store sperm and lay a few thousand eggs in a day. I'm not surprised, especially if you have a mated pair. =)

 

[sugar379c]

Well I know of one mated pair in my tank for certain. There are 5 mystery snails in the tank. The large brown one and small yellow one are the ones that have laid eggs.

 

[sugar379c]

Make that 5 clutches. They are breeding like rabbits. I thought it was supposed to be hard to breed mystery snails.

 

[Sylverclaws]

It can be. What's hard is raising them to pea size...lol The babies can be quite delicate, plus there can be a lot of them so you need the space to keep their bioload in check...especially with the food you have to put in risking fouled up water.

 

[sugar379c]

Would something like a vacation feeder work? Figure it wouldn't foul the water as fast and continuous supply of food

 

[sugar379c]

I was planning on waiting until they were about to hatch, then helping them a bit into a bowl of tank water, then putting them in my shrimp tank to grow up away from predators

 

[Sylverclaws]

I don't know. Does the food in the vacation feeders have everything they need? Calcium, plant matter and the like? If not they may die from malnutrition or damaged shells.

As for the shrimp tank, depends how big it is. Babies wont make much for bioload, but A LOT of them will, and they eat and eat while they grow and poop a lot. So the bioload will pick up pretty quick. I had two nests I raised in my twenty gallon planted tank, got them around bebe size before I noticed spikes started happening even with my extra cleaning and keeping most in a breeder(I believe I had around 50, I moved some to a net in my 55 gallon). So you have to be careful. Mystery snails have a pretty high bioload...they can be in smaller spaces for a short time, but to raise them will take a lot of cleaning and work to keep them healthy. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it IS work.