To hatch, or not to hatch

[Cinnebuns]

Tis nobler...OK I won't pretend to know shakespear at all...

So, I thought I had 2 male mystery snails in this tank. Turns out the magenta is a female. I found a present today. Now I'm trying to decide if I wanna hatch it or not. 

The way I see it, this is likely my best, and maybe only, chance to hatch a mystery snail clutch. It's small so more manageable. I'm not yet overrun by guppy fry everywhere. Although my females are about to give birth again and one looks mighty plump. I currently have the tank space that I don't plan to gave later once my fry population grows. But it's still small tanks. 

I would likely grow them out in 2 5-gallon tanks. Start with 1 then split as they grow OR only hatch half of it in a just one tank. Thank God it's a small clutch to begin with. 

Do I wanna deal with all those shells and all that calcium?  I hear horror stories of 2x a day water changes when the babies get big. If that's my reality, I'm fine with the work, if my health keeps up. I get days when I'm in bed all day. I keep up with feedings those days but no energy to water change. Is that a deal breaker for mystery snail hatching?  I don't wanna start it and regret it. 

BUT THE MOTHER IS MAGENTA AND PRETTY!! Although the dad is brown and ugly lol. 

What's your opinion?  What's been your experience?  How many eggs do you think might be in this clutch?

Sorry for the sideways pics. Idk how to fix that. 

[Guppysnail]

If you have the opportunity definitely do it. They are crazy fun to watch grow. Their behavior as early juveniles is so comical. It is a fun adventure. In my mystery hatch tank 2-4 x weekly wc sufficed just fine. Nitrates at or below 40 for the shiniest shells. Lots of steamed veggies and small amounts of commercial foods and repashy vs just tons of wafers/repashy keep the water under control. Often the first clutch is a practice clutch for the girl and not fertile but sometimes it is. As your fry get bigger if this clutch is not fertile your juvenile guppies (mostly the girls) will pick off a few of the new hatched mystery snails. Good luck I hope you journal your snail adventure. 

[Widgets]

On 3/24/2022 at 5:33 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Sorry for the sideways pics. Idk how to fix that.

It is an issue with how the camera app chose to store the file and what data gets preserved during the upload. If you slightly crop the image and resave it should be OK. Here is a thread.

 

[Cinnebuns]

On 3/24/2022 at 6:30 AM, Guppysnail said:

As your fry get bigger if this clutch is not fertile your juvenile guppies (mostly the girls) will pick off a few of the new hatched mystery snails.

I would put the mystery snails in a different tank. My next batch of guppy fry is due soon. I was considering putting in one of my 5 gallons, but I might either add them to the previous batch, or just leave them be in the main tank. I do plan to put the 2 females in with fry in the 5 gallon eventually, but I have time.