Mystery snail eggs & inverts journal

[Guppysnail]

I must get me one of those spoons 😍

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

10. Magnifying glass. For snail welfare checks and to inspect removed debris. This is very important for when they’re newborns. The dollar tree one is junk and doesn’t magnify well. Spend a few extra $.

11. Test kit card. For removing snail clutches from the wall or lid. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Odd Duck]

On 7/12/2022 at 4:02 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

10. Magnifying glass. For snail welfare checks and to inspect removed debris. This is very important for when they’re newborns. The dollar tree one is junk and doesn’t magnify well. Spend a few extra $.

11. Test kit card. For removing snail clutches from the wall or lid. 

I see your inspector has done the quality control analysis.  Good work, there.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

12. A small but bright flashlight. For those white dish inspections or to see what is a snail or what isn’t while siphoning a breeder box. Trust me, it helps a lot!

On 7/12/2022 at 5:14 PM, Odd Duck said:

I see your inspector has done the quality control analysis.  Good work, there.

The very best supervisor. High involvement that one. She micromanages all my activities. 🙂

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Odd Duck

Oversight of snail operations

 

She stands there any time I do anything to a tank.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Odd Duck]

She has excellent balance!  That’s a good trait for an inspector.  One of mine is a pest, but none are much good as inspectors.  Followers, foot swirlers, and trippers, I have, but no proper inspectors.  😆  My professional pest pictured below.

A caution to everyone, if you come across a professional pest, be very careful about letting them come inside, particularly if you occasionally have a touch of vertigo.  This can lead to dangerous circumstances, many near misses on feet and tails, and lots of arm waving and vigorous and loud exclaiming.  They will insist on making themselves a permanent part of the household no matter how many inspectors you may already have, whether you need another one or not.  😉 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Odd Duck
Add pic.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/12/2022 at 6:37 PM, Odd Duck said:

She has excellent balance!  That’s a good trait for an inspector.  One of mine is a pest, but none are much good as inspectors.  Followers, foot swirlers, and trippers, I have, but no proper inspectors.  😆  My professional pest pictured below.

A caution to everyone, if you come across a professional pest, be very careful about letting them come inside, particularly if you occasionally have a touch of vertigo.  This can lead to dangerous circumstances, many near misses on feet and tails, and lots of arm waving and vigorous and loud exclaiming.  They will insist on making themselves a permanent part of the household no matter how many inspectors you may already have, whether you need another one or not.  😉 

Aw 😍

Mine yells orders at me. They are actually just head scratching requests or pick me up requests. I give in to a lot of them, as long as my hands aren’t wet! 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I looked in the tank and realized the babies polished off every last bit of food! Added some Repashy and some of my DIY Snello which I had made a few months ago. That one has been in the freezer. Wasn’t sure they’d like it but it’s a big hit! Has a bunch of boiled veg, can of green beans, powdered eggshell, crushed algae wafers, little bit of fish food. It was really a sort of use-up-the-ingredients-on-hand recipe. They love it and everyone has traveled from near and far to the restaurant. 😊🐌🐌🐌🐌🥦

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

I guess the food is good in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Did they need the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to get there? If they start saying So Long and Thanks for all the Fish I would be concerned 🤣

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I got a new phone. The only reason I got it is for a better snail camera. #priorities

Hopefully the photos and videos are gonna be better now.

On 7/12/2022 at 8:42 PM, Guppysnail said:

I guess the food is good in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Did they need the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to get there? If they start saying So Long and Thanks for all the Fish I would be concerned 🤣

There were quite a few parasnails to get to the dish.  ☂  They have really good sense of smell. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Today I retired my breeder box (for now!)

The 4 babies that were in there have been drip acclimated to the growout tank. Much like the previous arrivals, they had no interest in staying by the food. They are enchanted with their new environment and eager to explore! There is plenty of algae for them.

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Odd Duck]

On 7/12/2022 at 7:42 PM, Guppysnail said:

I guess the food is good in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Did they need the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to get there? If they start saying So Long and Thanks for all the Fish I would be concerned 🤣

Are there 42 of them?

[Guppysnail]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:56 PM, Odd Duck said:

Are there 42 of them?

ORD 🤣🤣🤣🤣

The meaning if life, the universe, and everything. 🤣

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:56 PM, Odd Duck said:

Are there 42 of them?

There are 34. There were 35 before I gave one to a friend. I did receive an update on that one. She has a resin vase decoration in the tank, and the snail has kept busy cleaning the inside of it. She catches glimpses of him through the opening, just cruising around.

[Odd Duck]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:20 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

There are 34. There were 35 before I gave one to a friend. I did receive an update on that one. She has a resin vase decoration in the tank, and the snail has kept busy cleaning the inside of it. She catches glimpses of him through the opening, just cruising around.

I’m kind of sorry to hear there aren’t 42.  I was thinking that the snails might know something the dolphins didn’t.  Sorry, it’s another “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” reference.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/14/2022 at 9:00 AM, Odd Duck said:

I’m kind of sorry to hear there aren’t 42.  I was thinking that the snails might know something the dolphins didn’t.  Sorry, it’s another “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” reference.

LOL!  That reference went right over my head.  😝

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

York blessed us with another mini-clutch today. I gave her a green bean as a reward.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Something was rattling in my HOB. Every couple of seconds, I’d hear something. What is that?! (Don’t worry, not a snail. But something..)

About a month ago I added a pre filter sponge. Also I use a coarse sponge in the outflow. Keeps the Nerite out and the water sound down. The water sound was noisy because I keep the water level down some so York and the nerite can go get air or whatnot.

The nerite and the mystery snail are in the tank roaming around. Rattle.. click click in the intake tube or impeller area..?

What do you guys think it was? I will leave you in suspense and post the answer later!

[Katherine]

A cat toy?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Nope! But it did come from inside the aquarium.

[Katherine]

It's gotta be something more interesting than gravel, but I'm at a loss here.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Ok here are some hints-

*larger than the slats on the intake. (Therefore it must have gotten in there while I was applying the pre filter sponge. I had to take half of the intake tube off to put the sponge on.)
 

*cannot get bigger but can get smaller

*organic

*becomes harder as time passes

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

And the answer is….

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I made a mystery snail care sheet, and it's located here. I didn't want to get too technical with it, as it's meant for newbies - just people around the neighborhood that may wish to adopt a snail. 

 

Also question for @Guppysnail - the little dudes are really hungry.  Should I have food in there 24 hours or just leave it for, I don't know, half a day or what?  I feed them before work, and when I get home I find they've eaten everything.  I've been reloading them with food when the dish is empty, but maybe they are old enough that I don't need to continually feed? (Also asking this question for the sake of water quality. LOL)

They are cheap eaters, though.  They love the greenbeans and my DIY snello which costed almost nothing to make: powdered eggshell, veggie scraps, can of green beans, knox gelatin, various fish food.

I also think it's time to increase water changes to 2x per day.  Saw a rise in ammonia today.  I water change once a day regardless, and it's with Prime so that detoxifies any ammonia.  Plus the sponge filter has the ammonia pad.  This tank is cycled, but the bioload is creeping up.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

For feed even my new ones get commercial food one time per day what they can eat in just a few hours. It yucks water quality to fast.  Veggies always in tank they break down crazy slow and nano spirulina from aco I break up and make sure there is just a tiny piece always so if they are there looking for a cal mag source it there. 
 

Different foods yield different water quality. I drop however much I feed in a cup of water. Let dissolve for whatever amount of time I plan on leaving it in tank. Then test the big 3. Oddly enough some release all 3 in a drinking cup. Then I imagine that being spread the volume of my tank. If I think it’s reasonable for the tank to consume as it releases I use it. If not I cut back. If it’s bad and even cutting back I discard the entire package in the bin as poor quality food. 🤷🏼‍♀️  Right or wrong I’m not sure. You know me I have my own Gup style but it works for me. 😁