Mystery snails

[CyndiMc]

I bought an ivory mystery snail.  It has now had about 100 babies so far.  How often will it lay clutches? She's been busy since I bought her, very active.  Didn't know it was a female until I found the first 5 babies and there are so many different sizes of babies that I'm not sure how many clutches she's already had.  I've been reading that you can tell what color they will be by the first week but I can't tell.  Some are spotted, most look see through. I also read that the babies cannot have babies until they are about a year, is that true?  I'm hoping the co-op would take some of these babies off my hands for them to sell. 

[bcflowerlady]

Cyndi she must have come pregnant. Mystery snails are either male or female and you would need a pair. Mine breed even when they are smaller, at less tha 1 yr old. She would lay an egg case at the waterline then the babies would hatch from there. If you do not want any more just take the cases away. I freeze mine to kill the embryos. I' d need to seeba picture of the babies to say if they are mystery snail babies.

I put crushed coral in my tanks so there is enough calcium carbonate in the water for the babies and her shells to develop. They like celery and other vegertables. Parboil them first or nuke them for a short time to soften them. I sell my extras on Kijiji.

[CyndiMc]

Oh she was definitely pregnant when I bought her but the thing is, I never saw her casings.  She moves all around the tank and she's fast.  I believe her eggs were not above the water line.  I know all of the baby snails are mystery snails, as their shells are all round and you can see patterns on the shells. I'm curious if you can tell what color the babies are going to be at an early age.  And there's around 100 baby snails...

[Rikostan]

I could be wrong here, but I am pretty sure they only lay their egg clutches out of the water. In fact the baby snails can actually drown if left in water before they are ready.

 It also takes a few weeks for the clutches to hatch, so you probably would have seen it.

Maybe you have some Ramshorn snails instead?

[Dandy Pearl]

If this is a new tank, and there are live plants involved, there could have been some hitchhikers as an explanation for the instantaneous explosion of snails.

I have mystery snails an saw at least one egg clutch. You can not miss it. Either the snail is not a mystery snail, or there were hitchhikers.

There's not enough to go on to be conclusive.

Once you figure it out, you will be able to determine how best to manage the situation.

Good Luck!