What did I do?

[Cinnebuns]

IM READY FOR THE GROWING BIOLOAD!!

I had to. I just had to do it once. It helps this clutch was on the smaller side. It took 3 weeks of incubating but tonight my clutch hatched. I'm kinda happy, excited, and SCARED!! A friend hatched one once and ended up doing 2x a day water changes in the end. I have several choices if it gets that bad lol. It appears they are magenta too based on this chart thing but it's also hard to see them when they are this tiny lol. 

I just wanted to share my excitement mostly. Also, FYI, about 20 min after taking the one pic i did crumble the larger piece a little more and more came out. I'm amazed at how much and how quickly they move around. Some had already reached the other end of the tank in less than an hour. 

[Tihshho]

Congrats on your first clutch!

[lefty o]

im not a big snail fan, but that is still neat.

[nabokovfan87]

Literally gave me the chills.  Can't do it!  LOL

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:49 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Literally gave me the chills.  Can't do it!  LOL

I think I went temporarily insane when I decided to do this. Oh well, might be fun lol

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/7/2022 at 10:53 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I think I went temporarily insane when I decided to do this. Oh well, might be fun lol

I just think to my days trying to get my amano. sitting there with a magnifying glass, a light, a flashlight, a syringe, and looking up some weird places to buy a bottle of green water to feed the zoeys.

Then I found some step by step, super in depth amano guide that had showed different methods to "replicate" the path down the stream and someone who build a series of tanks to replicate the journey, their log, notes, and a lot of photos showing their development over time.

I wish you luck and let the memes roll. 😂

[Flumpweesel]

Congratulations.

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 5/7/2022 at 11:49 PM, Cinnebuns said:

my clutch hatched.

Interesting and I`m not too smart but a clutch of what? 

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:14 AM, BuzzDaddy21 said:

Interesting and I`m not too smart but a clutch of what? 

Mystery snail eggs. I'm about 90% sure they are magenta. 

[Nicohorse318]

On 5/8/2022 at 1:53 AM, Cinnebuns said:

I think I went temporarily insane when I decided to do this. Oh well, might be fun lol

@Cinnebuns congratulations! One of my Mystery Snails just laid a clutch of eggs on Thursday, and I too am mildly terrified and excited! Not sure if I am going to let it hatch - this is my first time with a egg clutch. These babies will be either gold or white/cream.

I've read that it takes ~20 days or so to hatch - am I correct?

What if I don't want it to hatch in the tank it's currently "growing" in? Can I move it?

Any and all guidance is welcome! 🙂 🐌

[Bev C]

Congratulations ,,  I would be afraid of trying  to hatch them with  my luck ... I do want a couple more mystery snails, but it would be more safe for me to buy a couple more than hatch them,   I would get hundreds. If I tried to hatch them.   My mystery mate like crazy, but I pull the Clutch sac out and freeze it and then discard it 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Bev C

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/9/2022 at 10:08 AM, Nicohorse318 said:

I've read that it takes ~20 days or so to hatch - am I correct?

From my understanding 2-4 weeks. Mine took just over 3 weeks. Once I saw one pop out it crumbled easily. It basically fell apart from barely touching it whereas I had touched it just a couple hours before and it didn't. 

 

On 5/9/2022 at 10:08 AM, Nicohorse318 said:

What if I don't want it to hatch in the tank it's currently "growing" in? Can I move it?

Absolutely you can! I incubated mine in a Tupperware floating above the tank. They need to be humid but not wet. Inside the Tupperware was layer 1:  4 sheets of paper towel wet with tank water. Layer 2:  3-4 sheets of paper towel dry layer 3: egg clutch laying on top. Cover closed and have holes poked in them for air. Check daily if condensation has built up on the side and wipe down if needed so it doesn't drip on the clutch and make it too wet. It worked brilliantly. 

After I saw the 1 snail escape the clutch and was onto the paper towel, I then crumbled the clutch into a seperate tank. Many people like to do this into a breeder box or specimen container because it is easier to keep an eye on them but they will out grow it pretty quickly. I opted to just put them straight into the tank. 

On 5/9/2022 at 10:08 AM, Nicohorse318 said:

Any and all guidance is welcome! 🙂 🐌

This is my first clutch so I'm by no means an expert, but I have done a TON of research and closely follow mystery snail groups. I did incubated a clutch before this one that ended up being infertile. After 4 weeks there was no change and it had an odor to it. 

Again, I don't have personal experience with this, but there are some things I've learned from talking to many many people who have done this. One thing to keep in mind before hatching a clutch is the massive bioload you are in for. Initially it's negligible. They are so tiny you can barely see them. But eventually as they grow they eat and poop A TON. A local friend, for example, hatched and grew out a ~100 snail clutch in a 10 gallon tank. Idk what her filtration was like but I know she didn't have many, if any, live plants. In the end of the 2 months she was doing 2x a day water changes to keep up with the bioload. Compare that to another guy who grew out close to 200 snails in a 55 heavily planted tank. It had other fish as well. He said he only needed to do weekly water changes. 

I personally have a few options. Right now they are in a 10 gallon tank but I have plans incase that becomes unmanageable. I have other filters I can throw on. I also have a 20 gallon tank I can move them to. If needed, I can split them up into multiple tanks. If even all that isn't enough, I have a friend willing to take some of them. Backup plans are huge in this hobby and especially so in this situation. Mystery snail bioload can creep up on you since they are all growing together. Being aware of this and having plans helps to prevent issues. 

Btw, I learned this incubating method from a video. Sometimes describing something isn't as easy to understand as seeing the video yourself. I can look for it and link it for you later if you want. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[Nicohorse318]

On 5/9/2022 at 5:17 PM, Cinnebuns said:

From my understanding 2-4 weeks. Mine took just over 3 weeks. Once I saw one pop out it crumbled easily. It basically fell apart from barely touching it whereas I had touched it just a couple hours before and it didn't. 

 

Absolutely you can! I incubated mine in a Tupperware floating above the tank. They need to be humid but not wet. Inside the Tupperware was layer 1:  4 sheets of paper towel wet with tank water. Layer 2:  3-4 sheets of paper towel dry layer 3: egg clutch laying on top. Cover closed and have holes poked in them for air. Check daily if condensation has built up on the side and wipe down if needed so it doesn't drip on the clutch and make it too wet. It worked brilliantly. 

After I saw the 1 snail escape the clutch and was onto the paper towel, I then crumbled the clutch into a seperate tank. Many people like to do this into a breeder box or specimen container because it is easier to keep an eye on them but they will out grow it pretty quickly. I opted to just put them straight into the tank. 

This is my first clutch so I'm by no means an expert, but I have done a TON of research and closely follow mystery snail groups. I did incubated a clutch before this one that ended up being infertile. After 4 weeks there was no change and it had an odor to it. 

Again, I don't have personal experience with this, but there are some things I've learned from talking to many many people who have done this. One thing to keep in mind before hatching a clutch is the massive bioload you are in for. Initially it's negligible. They are so tiny you can barely see them. But eventually as they grow they eat and poop A TON. A local friend, for example, hatched and grew out a ~100 snail clutch in a 10 gallon tank. Idk what her filtration was like but I know she didn't have many, if any, live plants. In the end of the 2 months she was doing 2x a day water changes to keep up with the bioload. Compare that to another guy who grew out close to 200 snails in a 55 heavily planted tank. It had other fish as well. He said he only needed to do weekly water changes. 

I personally have a few options. Right now they are in a 10 gallon tank but I have plans incase that becomes unmanageable. I have other filters I can throw on. I also have a 20 gallon tank I can move them to. If needed, I can split them up into multiple tanks. If even all that isn't enough, I have a friend willing to take some of them. Backup plans are huge in this hobby and especially so in this situation. Mystery snail bioload can creep up on you since they are all growing together. Being aware of this and having plans helps to prevent issues. 

Btw, I learned this incubating method from a video. Sometimes describing something isn't as easy to understand as seeing the video yourself. I can look for it and link it for you later if you want. 

Thank you @Cinnebuns - this info definitely makes me feel better about keeping this clutch. I will certainly try to move the clutch into a floating Tupperware like you suggested, that way it does not surprise me by hatching mini Mystery Snails into my 55 gallon display tank! 😬

Good point! I do have options for the clutch after it hatches - I have a bunch of other tanks, as well as a Diamondback Terrapin...🐢 😋 and a LFS who could take a few off my hands as well.

I love learning, and this hobby is the perfect space for constant learning! Thank you for your help 🙂 

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/10/2022 at 8:17 AM, Nicohorse318 said:

I love learning, and this hobby is the perfect space for constant learning! Thank you for your help 🙂 

I can't agree more with this! This is what initially made me fall in deep in the hobby is I couldn't stop learning!! Other aspects soon grabbed me but the learning is what started it!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

A rarity- I moved my HOB filter today. Actually I took it to the sink to do maintenance. Anyway found this clutch of mystery snail eggs behind the outflow and I want to know how I can tell if they are viable? They could have been there for months or days.

i also should mention I only have ONE mystery snail. And one Nerite. Hmm…

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Katherine]

On 5/27/2022 at 2:15 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

i also should mention I only have ONE mystery snail. And one Nerite. Hmm…

I'm not sure how to tell if they're viable, but I've read that mystery snails can save sperm for quite a long time before laying, so it's possible mating may have taken place before you got her. Otherwise I've also read maybe once that someone thought they could lay infertile eggs sometimes.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/27/2022 at 5:20 PM, Katherine said:

mystery snails can save sperm for quite a long time before laying

That is crazy! I’m going to incubate these. Let’s hope for the best! 🤞

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Did I tell you that once I started doing nice stuff for aquarium snails, snails have been showing up at my door? Either next to the front door or the back sliding door, on the glass or the screen. One snail will show up at a time.  I have to move them to the garden or they will dry out. (For example, I cooked food for 1 aquarium snail. And then garden snail shows up at door next day.)

So last night I set up the mystery snail incubator, and this morning I wake up to TWO snails on the back door! I think this is a sign. I have a fan club, and I’m meant to hatch these mystery snails.

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/27/2022 at 2:15 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

A rarity- I moved my HOB filter today. Actually I took it to the sink to do maintenance. Anyway found this clutch of mystery snail eggs behind the outflow and I want to know how I can tell if they are viable? They could have been there for months or days.

i also should mention I only have ONE mystery snail. And one Nerite. Hmm…

 

It's more likely to not be viable but it doesn't hurt to try. Since you have no idea how long it's been there I personally would give it a month before giving up on it. 

[Odd Duck]

On 5/27/2022 at 2:15 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

A rarity- I moved my HOB filter today. Actually I took it to the sink to do maintenance. Anyway found this clutch of mystery snail eggs behind the outflow and I want to know how I can tell if they are viable? They could have been there for months or days.

i also should mention I only have ONE mystery snail. And one Nerite. Hmm…

 

Those look very freshly laid, less than 24 hours old would be my guess.  Congrats!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Seriously? How exciting! Here they are today.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Guppysnail help!! Mystery snail laid another clutch overnight! A lot bigger! Can you help me figure out next steps?

I’m incubating in the Tupperware and have the breeder box for the next phase. How to equip the breeder box? Water circulation? Airstone? Sand? I do plan to throw in Java moss..

What size grow out tank after that? Water change frequency?

Slightly freaking out.. lol.

[Guppysnail]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea

Congratulations. I first want to advise against allowing all the clutches hatch. They lay eggs for quite some time. Start with one clutch possibly 2 until you get the hang of it. I water change as needed to keep nitrate below 40 and zero ammonia/nitrite 
what I do is use a 10g bare bottom tank. These guys are messy and tiny so substrate makes it very hard to clean safely for me. Also not all survive and seeing the ones that don’t makes removal easy prior to fouling water  

I throw 1-2 seasoned or at least seeded sponge filters in. As many fast growing plants as I can. They grow fine with no substrate. 
feed soft steamed veggie varieties and quality wafers. I add wondershells even in hard water to make certain they have enough. 
 

Rachael O’Leary does the hatch method video I use. Here is one but she does a few info videos on hatching and raising

Hope this helps if you have more questions just ask  

MOST IMPORTANT… enjoy the adventure  these little ones are so cute and fun 🥰

 

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSeaOh I forgot the breeder box. I don’t use them I put them directly into the 10g. If you use one do the flow through type bare bottom airstone if not flow through and plants.  but the babies will escape quickly and easily that’s why I don’t use them for mystery snails. 

Edited May 30, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Guppysnailthanks so much! I will follow along with the videos and see what happens!