Mystery snail eggs & inverts journal

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Right, and then what if they die?  You'd never know, then your water would be contaminated and you wouldn't be able to figure out why.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:15 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Right, and then what if they die?  You'd never know, then your water would be contaminated and you wouldn't be able to figure out why.

Exactly!  I would be constantly worrying. I’m a head counter and daily health inspector for each critter I have. Plus really…I want pets I get to see. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:01 AM, Katherine said:

I saw somewhere that someone had a terrible time trying to clean their sponge filter because it was full of MTS and they're pointy. They couldn't just squeeze it or they'd get stabbed.

I didn't even think they could fit into the sponge!  I guess the babies can.  Then they grow...

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I figured out why the snails were a little lethargic the past few days. Originally I thought it was overeating, and that temporary fast I did (just overnight) helped temporarily.  So, I determined it was a growth spurt. They all had the little spikes along the edge of their shells.

They are back to their usual nomming now.

It's very interesting to learn about critters' behaviors.  It's one thing to know habitat and nutrition, but sometimes they do things that just stump me.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Get ready…. Get set….

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I almost forgot to boil some green beans this morning!  The snail army got Snello and some banquet block, with crab cuisine sprinkled on top.  (Crab cuisine does look like sprinkles, doesn't it?)  It was a glorious sundae, and they sure do love their Snello.  However, they'll blow through all that in an hour, guaranteed.  They're going to have to wait for their second course, because I had to go to work, and the green bean was too hot to serve.

[Katherine]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:40 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I have groundbreaking news! Was changing water in both tanks today and I found something!  A baby mystery snail! NOT a gold snail! (In the 10gal new tank). Every baby has been gold up to this point. I did not transfer any creatures to this tank.  So.. how did it get there? How long has it been in there? And most importantly- isn’t it cute? 😍 

How is this one doing?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

It is doing just fine. It sometimes joins the others in the food dish but most often I see it on plants. However, it hasn’t really grown? Maybe it is not a mystery snail? Sure looks like one though. 
 

[Katherine]

So strange.

[Highwater]

Sure does look like one - I always find a few later in tanks where I've removed the clutches -

These are on the 3 rd week since I busted them out - I was very happy to see the purple or lavender ones again -

I feed few pellets of this crab cusine - seems to really help growth and keep shells solid

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/30/2022 at 9:49 AM, Highwater said:

Sure does look like one - I always find a few later in tanks where I've removed the clutches -

These are on the 3 rd week since I busted them out - I was very happy to see the purple or lavender ones again -

I feed few pellets of this crab cusine - seems to really help growth and keep shells solid

The weird thing is, there were no eggs, no fish, no inverts or anything in the tank when this guy was found. All I had added was plants, so I am certain he was a plant hitchhiker (even survived a 15-20 sec salt dip, poor fella). But I’m glad he did. He’s a part of the snail family now since everyone has been added to this growout tank.

I like to offer crab cuisine as well, since it contains calcium. It doesn’t last long! They love it!

Edited July 30, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Well folks, another snail adoption occurred today. Very close to home, about 2 miles. Another hobbyist with a 20 gallon and a 55 gallon has adopted 10. He requested delivery, which I did offer in my Nextdoor listing, given that it was close enough to my home. This is fine with me. It gave me an opportunity to do secret shell checks for limpets and remove them. Yep, that’s still a thing.

Anyway…
 

Here’s the tank before the adoption.  I just wanted to take a photo of all the brothers and sisters before splitting them up. 

The snail dad is going to place 3 in one tank and 7 in the other, so that is how I bagged them. I gave a care sheet, 2 chunks cuttlebone so he can put a chunk in each tank, and some crab cuisine. 
 

It was $1 per snail, so in truest NERM fashion, I used proceeds to buy some Taco Bell for lunch! 

 

I don’t know why but I always get so nervous and my hands shake when removing snails for adoption. I think it’s clear I am overprotective of the little guys, although they probably think an earthquake is occurring when they get handled! 🙃

After I returned home, everyone else got a cabbage leaf. 

Dodger is having a nap right now so will have leftovers later.

Also some more snails came to the back door. Two today. This is a daily thing, only since the decision to hatch eggs happened. 
 

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Katherine I tried to get a video of the little guy for you, but then there were a bunch of shenanigans!

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Just moseying along.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Clutch 12. I believe it was laid while I was out delivering snails to their new home. It’s never laid when I’m around, it seems. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

They love cabbage so much! They are on their second leaf now. 
 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Dodger is picky! He doesn’t like carrot, he doesn’t like cabbage, and he doesn’t like crab cuisine. 
 

He likes green bean and calcium chips though. He’s pretty content to clean the tank, like the nerite.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I got an update on Goldie. The first snail that was adopted out. She is being spoiled with salad!

 

On 7/30/2022 at 9:49 AM, Highwater said:

 

Your little purple ones are beautiful, @Highwater! 😍

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Do you think little guy has a snoot 

or a vacuum (like a mystery snail)?

 

 

 

The little guy really likes the cuttlebone a lot.

[Katherine]

Ooh, no I don't think that looks like a mystery anymore! Different face, and the shell swirl is at a different angle. I wonder if we'll be able to figure out what kind it is... Not me though.

[Guppysnail]

It’s face looks like a bladder snail but it is not. The spire point on yours is at a steep right angle vs a slight left angle. I can’t wait to find out it’s beautiful 🥰

[Katherine]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:49 AM, Guppysnail said:

It’s face looks like a bladder snail but it is not. The spire point on yours is at a steep right angle vs a slight left angle. I can’t wait to find out it’s beautiful 🥰

I believe I see an operculum on this guy too. Can you verify @Chick-In-Of-TheSea?

[Guppysnail]

Ok I just did a quick search of photos from the batch of babies my niece hatched. The ivories shell looked similar and did not color to pure ivory until they grew a bit more. Hers had white foot though. But she did have a blue one.  So perhaps your girl held sperm from prior to purchase blue/ivory shell snails?  

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:52 AM, Guppysnail said:

Ok I just did a quick search of photos from the batch of babies my niece hatched. The ivories shell looked similar and did not color to pure ivory until they grew a bit more. Hers had white foot though. But she did have a blue one.  So perhaps your girl held sperm from prior to purchase blue/ivory shell snails?  

Not possible.  The eggs were in a separate tank completely and hatched there.  The little guy was over in the growout tank by himself after plants were added.

[Guppysnail]

On 8/2/2022 at 10:27 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Not possible.  The eggs were in a separate tank completely and hatched there.  The little guy was over in the growout tank by himself after plants were added.

Wow. Maybe it is a myster Snail that hitchhiked on plants. Or aliens landed and forgot to take their kin with them 🤣