Snail Mystery?!

[KimAnnKitz]

I recently bought 4 snails sold as "Purple Zebra Snails". Newbie that I am, I assumed that they were a type of the zebra snail species, but purple. Now I am questioning this assumption . I believe that they are actually a purple mystery snail. Can anyone look at these pictures and help me identify????

 

[Fibsog]

Yes its just a purple mystery

 

[KimAnnKitz]

Thank you so much. That's what I thought! 2 of the 5 have grown a LOT in just a few weeks. How big will they get ultimately? I would say the largest are now about 1 1/4", having grown at least 1/4" which seems amazing to me. My water temp in all the tanks the snails are in stays right around 78 degrees. I did read that the higher the temp, the more active the snail and the shorter it's lifespan. They are all betta tanks, 2, 4 and 5 gallon.

 

[cfosgate]

They can grow to the size of a golfball.

 

[shellyx]

Nice looking mystery snails, pretty color

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[cfosgate]

You'll want to make sure that uou have a tight-fitting lid or drop the water level 2" from the top as these snails lay their effs above the waterline. If you have an open tank and no room above the waterline they could, and do, fall out of the tank looking for places to lay their eggs.

 

[KimAnnKitz]

Thanks everyone! I have snail pairs in 2 of my tanks and only 1 in my smallest. I am into betta keeping and have all small Fluval tanks (2, 4 and 5 gal). They are all planted and need some algae eaters. I bought "zebra" snails because I know they won't get as big, so 2 may be too many in the 4 gal and 5 gal tanks, IDK. All but one of the Fluvals have the top intake so I can not lower the water level too much....about 1" from the top at most. They do have lids, but all have openings to allow for light penetration. Not sure if the snails will call across the top and out the opening or not, but I will keep an eye on them. If I read my research correctly it does take a male and female mystery to breed. Is this correct? Will the females still lay eggs if she has not been fertilized? I have not clue of the sexes of these snails! LOL... And maybe what I read was incorrect. I had been reading up on zebra snails and have had to switch course midstream. Any more info anyone can provide would be appreciated. These are my first snails....besides some red ramshorns that I wish I'd never gotten! I already have tiny baby's from them...

 

[cfosgate]

Nope, you need a male and a female to breed. If the pair is breedable then the female might lay her eggs at the top (lid) of the tank. No big deal unless you don't want another 50-100 of them. Hey, they sell fast though.

 

[KimAnnKitz]

Nope, you need a male and a female to breed. If the pair is breedable then the female might lay her eggs at the top (lid) of the tank. No big deal unless you don't want another 50-100 of them. Hey, they sell fast though.

Ha! Well...I have no place for another 50 much less 100. I have small tanks as I said earlier and no room for a large one. I'll just have to see what happens. Had them for a few weeks and so far no eggs. Thanks for the info!

 

[Fibsog]

They are beautiful though