Sexing Mystery Snails

[Theplatymaster]

How to you tell the sex of mystery snails to breed them? I just want to get a pair.

[Fish Folk]

Here’s the long way. Doubt your LFS will allow you to check like this 😬

[Cinnebuns]

It's not easy. I've gotten it wrong many times. Most reliable way I've found is to wait until it either mounts another or lays eggs. The real way is rough. 

[Brandon p]

Mystery snails are able to to change sex

[Odd Duck]

On 5/17/2022 at 7:25 PM, Brandon p said:

Mystery snails are able to to change sex

Where did you hear this?  I’ve done a ton of reading on mystery snails and never seen this mentioned.  I think people have difficulty accurately sexing them, but I don’t believe this has been documented.

[Brian]

The one watching The Life Time  or Hallmark channel is the female.  So sorry I couldn’t resist. 

[Brian]

I think at one time many many years ago it was believed that they reproduce asexually.  I also believe that has been proven to not be true.  I’m trying to find the article.  I can’t remember now but I’m pretty sure the article said they are gonochorisic (check my spelling) and you need a male and female.  Maybe the king of snails can give us some insight @Cory    

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/16/2022 at 8:04 PM, Fish Folk said:

Here’s the long way. Doubt your LFS will allow you to check like this 😬

Those photos look ultra slimy! 😝

Sometimes I can see far into my mystery snail shell when s/he descends from driftwood or plants that s/he has been cleaning. It is so bizarre. I'll have to try to sex the snail next time I see them do that. Thank you!

[Odd Duck]

On 5/19/2022 at 9:30 AM, Brian said:

I think at one time many many years ago it was believed that they reproduce asexually.  I also believe that has been proven to not be true.  I’m trying to find the article.  I can’t remember now but I’m pretty sure the article said they are gonochorisic (check my spelling) and you need a male and female.  Maybe the king of snails can give us some insight @Cory    

They thought they were hermaphrodites at one point, too, but now they know there are definitely 2 sexes and that females can store sperm for many months.

[Nate22]

I picked up 4 of them and have had non stop eggs. Seems everyday or every other day 1 of them is laying eggs. Out of the 4 we know 2 are female and 1 is male and the other 1 could care less about mating.lol. I think he/she says y'all can reproduce I'm just going to eat n do snail things. Lol. I would say buy a few and see what happens and then take back the others. 

[Bev C]

I have 3 love them, but they  mate all the time, I told my  Mom they were little frisky devils 😄 I have to pull 1-2 egg clutch  ever 1-2 weeks. But I check every day for new eggs because I do not  want 100 snails one day. I have one male and two females   I have 1 gold  and  2 whites and  one of the whites is the male only time I know which one is the male when he mates with the gold one.

While I have eaten crow and my words "I swore when I started fish keeping  I did not want any snails due to over population,"

but I  got into plants and got  algae  I still do not like the pest snails  and still  Alum dip my plants  But the members here on the forum and my fish guy educate me a little &  told me I could control the numbers, so I have  nitrite and mystery snails both   now they are one of my favorites in the tank