one mystery snail... now have babies!

[GNarnian]

Howdy everyone. I've got quite a confusing situation here! I bought 3 mystery snails from petsmart a month or so ago. Two are in my larger aquarium, and a single black mystery snail is in my smaller tank.

Well, imagine my surprise yesterday when I discovered baby snails in my tank! I never saw any eggs layed above the water line, but these are without a doubt babies. I can't get a picture since they are so small, but you can see the tiny shells on some of the "bigger" ones. Does anyone have any idea how this magical snail appearance happened?! I haven't added any new plants in several months, so I don't think tag-alongs are possible.

Any ideas out there?

 

[GNarnian]

I do know that I need a pair if snails for them to reproduce, hence my total head-scratching confusion. Right now, I'm down to two conclusions:

Immaculate Snail conception, or an invisible/ ninja snail. XD

 

[jetajockey]

Mystery snails can reproduce without a mate present.

from applesnail.net

It is also important to mention that female apple snails can store sperm for months, so even the eggs of a single snail can be fertile.

 

[GNarnian]

So she could have just been waiting to drop a snail bomb on me, eh? Splendid. Now I wonder how many I sucked up the other day when I did my gravel vac on that tank. -____-

I'm a snail assassin.