Not 1 but 2 snail clutches just discovered

[JJenna]

I religiously check the rim of my tank every day to see if there are any snail clutches, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think they would lay their eggs on the lid of the tank. As I was walking upstairs I wondered what the heck was floating in my tank. I know they weren't there yesterday when I took a picture of the cats watching me feed the fish. Now I'm scrambling to find those journals I kept up on regarding: mystery snail clutches... @TeeJay is one and the other is likely @Chick-In-Of-TheSea our resident experts. 

First I'm wondering if there is sufficient humidity on my tank lid to keep them alive while I put things together. There is always condensation on it. I'm not hopeful for success due to being a novice and such but it's exciting to see that good things are happening in my tank while I'm struggling with my plant issues. What they might be remains to be seen, but likely Chestnut/Albino because there are 6 of them and only 1 Gold (although Goldy is such a Lothario in our Snail World).  

 

[Guppysnail]

Congratulations 🎉💕

[JJenna]

The Incubator is made. I layered damp paper towels on the bottom, covered them with a layer of paper towel and put lid on that had holes poked in it for air. It is now floating comfortably in the tank. The smaller clutch may have been laid by a younger snail. They have to learn how sometime, I doubt they have any choice in the matter. 

Going to keep track of my parameters in case I decide this is something I can do so I'm able to replicate. 

[TeeJay]

First congrats on the clutches  believe you me I'm no expert by any means. Most of mine was tryal and error until I figured out that my temps were too cool and not enough kh In the water the first time around. The second time I corrected it and had success. If it was not for @Guppysnail I would have never made it. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Congratulations! You’re on the right track with the incubator. Usually clutches fall off or get too hard if left on the glass.

[JJenna]

Mother hen here worrying already. Lots of condensation in the incubator this morning. I wonder if it's because the tank lid is pushing it down and the condensation is dripping from the lid into the incubator. The paper towels weren't soaking wet, I couldn't squeeze any water out. I don't know if they are getting sufficient O2 with the lid resting against the incubator top. I tell myself, "of course, they're getting enough oxygen, look at how small they are and how much air they need." Wiped out the incubator and placed new paper towels inside. The eggs look nice and plump and pinky-beige in color. 

[Levi_Aquatics]

Congrats on the 2 clutches!! Eggs are always super exciting in the aquarium! 

[JJenna]

The snail clutches have survived a week. Daily switch out of paper towels to reduce moisture. Some of the eggs were not viable and it looks like the "ohhh,  there's still some eggs to drop" clutch on the right is looking less likely to pop out any snails but I'll keep it around. Going to start cycling a 5.5 gallon tank this week to be ready when eggs are ripe. Still need to look at some pics of clutches in development to see what else I should be looking for. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I used a 10g and when they started growing I had to water change twice a day (for 1 hatched clutch) to keep ammonia in check. @JJenna

On 1/22/2023 at 10:46 AM, JJenna said:

Going to start cycling a 5.5 gallon

As eggs develop they will kind of look tan/gold, then some eggs will turn white and open(empty), then the clutch will start to look moldy. But it’s not mold, it’s that you’re starting to see snail shells through the eggs. 
 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/15/2023 at 8:47 AM, JJenna said:

wonder if it's because the tank lid is pushing it down

You can always drop the water level.

[JJenna]

Babies are beginning to arrive! This clutch has been looking kind of moldy for a couple of days and was beginning to see black spots. Today I knew it was time to transfer out of incubator and into tank. Going to sprinkle some spirulina on the damp paper towel covering the styrofoam. I'm wondering will they find their own way into the water? I'm fearful of squishing them. 

[Guppysnail]

On 1/29/2023 at 12:53 PM, JJenna said:

Babies are beginning to arrive! This clutch has been looking kind of moldy for a couple of days and was beginning to see black spots. Today I knew it was time to transfer out of incubator and into tank. Going to sprinkle some spirulina on the damp paper towel covering the styrofoam. I'm wondering will they find their own way into the water? I'm fearful of squishing them. 

Their shells are actually sturdy at this point. As long as you are gentle they will be fine to crumble the clutch. You would have to apply deliberate pressure to crush the babies. Congratulations 🎉🎊 

[TeeJay]

Yes the first time crumbling a clutch is kinda scary. I have fat sausage fingers and that's what I was afraid of the first time. You got this. Be ready for an ay of snails lol

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Crumbling the clutch ensures the greatest success.

Edited January 29, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[JJenna]

I crumbled the clutch and it was just as you described and now I have LOTS of snabies. They're climbing the glass in the QT. Put a piece of zucchini down and some additional spirulina. They've found the susswassertang as well. Proud mama nerm here. Not only do I have snabies, but I also have endler fry and shrimplets! My daughter spotted them, I could barely see them. Will snap pics when I can see them better.  

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Congratulations! I am not sure if you have Java moss around, but mine really enjoyed Java moss.

[JJenna]

The snabies are about a week old now. It's fun to see their wee lil antennae sticking out as they climb the glass. The Suswassertang is loaded with them as well. I have been culling them when I clean up food debris daily and feeding the culls to the turtle and barbs. I can't get an accurate count because of how many are in the Suss. I've counted about 25 on the glass regularly. 

[Guppysnail]

There are few things as cute as baby snails 🥰

[JJenna]

The snabies are about 2 weeks old now and I'm beginning to see more distinct coloration. I have to admit that while I clean the bottom of the tank everyday, I don't pipette the detritus up. I use a turkey baster that has a fairly large bore at the tip and the snabies get sucked up from time to time. Because they weigh more than the detritus, they drop to the tip before the old food does. I place the baster over the suswassertang to cushion their fall. I'm still not at a point where I want to count them, but just eyeballing I'd say I have between 30-40 snabies. 

[JJenna]

The snabies are almost a month old now and are developing their final coloration, chestnut. A couple of them are chick-pea size but I'm going to hold off for a little more before transferring some to the 40 gal and offering up to local club or surrendering to LFS. There are at least 20 in the tank and there are more hanging out in the Suswassertang. It's been an experience, but I won't be going into breeding Mysteries full time. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way! 

[JJenna]

It's been so fun watching the snails grow. All but 5 have been rehomed and I'm beginning to regret it because the shell color has changed again. Initially they were a peachy/gold color which morphed into a darker color and I thought they would all be chestnut. Given that 5/6 Mystery snails I had in the tank were chestnut, this was no surprise. In the past week I've seen another change in color. The spires were remaining brown but the main shell has changed to magenta, which is a total surprise to me! Looking at the the MSCG Project, Magenta's colors loci is aayyS_  This is where it starts to get murky for me so I'm writing it out to see if makes more sense for me (I've always learned best from reading). The locus for body color is (A) and Gold MS have 2 recessive loci for color. I take this to mean that Tenzig (Gold MS) was one of the mating pair. The locus for shell background color is (Y) and Ivory, Blue, and Magenta have 2 recessive loci (yy) for background color. This is where I get lost, The other snails in the tank are all Chestnut and their background color locus is Y_. I take this to mean that these recessive loci have come from further back (much like red hair color popping up in a family of all brown hair color). The locus for shell striping is (S) and Chestnut, Brown/Black, Purple and Magenta all have a dominant and recessive loci for striping. At this point my brain is telling me, "if it looks like a duck...." then it means that the shell background color is from 2 recessive loci from a prior generation's snail color, either Ivory, Blue, or Magenta. 

Appreciate any feedback on this. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by JJenna
Clarification of shell vs body color

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Interesting! @Theplatymaster bought a snail which looked brown at first, then it looked purple. Interesting to see what those babies would look like.

Great job hatching and raising yours! The little ones are so cute, aren’t they?

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:06 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Interesting! @Theplatymaster bought a snail which looked brown at first, then it looked purple. Interesting to see what those babies would look like.

oh,

ive been unsure the whole time.

just remember ive had it for 2weeks so probably no major changes yet, it may be black, it may be purple.

also this is EXACTLY why i want to breed these snails.

GENETICS!

[JJenna]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:12 AM, Theplatymaster said:

this is EXACTLY why i want to breed these snails

It is interesting and I would also like to do it, but space does not allow it, not to mention what to do with all the grown snabies!

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/19/2023 at 10:37 AM, JJenna said:

It is interesting and I would also like to do it, but space does not allow it, not to mention what to do with all the grown snabies!

this is why before my snails are breeding, im reaching out to local hobbyists and the LFS to see if i will have a home for the snabies as you call them.