More Mystery Snails !

[joannde]

I originally had 12 mystery snails but lost 10 of them, most of them because they crawled out of the tank and hit the tile floor shattering their shells. (I now have an old bedsheet rolled up behind the tank to catch them going forward).
I ordered another 12 earlier in the week - 4 blue, 4 magenta, 4 albino. Some of the snails were small so he gave me 2 instead of 1. There were 20 snails in total !! You should see my tank LOL - its covered end to end in snails, and I love it !
I tried putting one in each of the betta tanks but they were harrassed - not by the bettas, but by the ghost shrimp of all things.
Once to two 20 gallons are set up I'll be moving 5 to each of them.

I love mystery snails !!! (can ya tell ?)

 

[Mosaic]

I've found mysteries are just as addictive as bettas, but you have the benefit of putting more than one in a tank. I think that definitely contributes to the problem, lol.

 

[Musket]

hahahahaha yup, you start with one betta then you have 5. You start with 1 brig snail and then you have 50. People come over and say "What's with all the snails?" hahahahaha
Got my mom addicted though. She will come over and just watch that little snail tank and grin. At first she thought they were slimy. Now that she has seen how interesting and entertaining they are, she thinks they are Kewl! She has been watching the growth of my original Ivory male. He is the biggest snail I've ever had, when he comes all out of his shell... wow, you just can't imagine he can get all that body back in there.

Yep, definitely addicted!

 

[joannde]

Gosh isn't it the truth ! I have 3 bettas (and had up to 5 at one point !) and 20-ish snails. It's amazing how fast the snails actually move. The only thing that would make me happier with them is if they would eat the hair algae LOL

 

[JeffreyL]

snail

Okay all you snail lovers, got a question. All the references on keeping mystery & apple snails I've found say to keep the water level in the tank down at least 2 inches from full. The reasons given are a bit contradictory, but it seems to be neccessary only you want them to lay eggs properly. Is this correct? I would like to try some of the little guys, but not if I have to drop water levels. lol

Thanks, Jeff

P.S. Just realised I may have slightly highjacked this thread, but since you were all gathered here .........

 

[plecoperson]

If you don't lower the water level they will climb on outta the tank trying to find somewheres to lay eggs. Some people tape/velcro an upside-down plastic utensil tray over the opening in the back, so the water can stay high but the snails still have a dry spot to lay the eggs. You can usually lower the water just to the bottom of the plastic trim on top the tank, so it appears full but still has a couple inches at the top for the snails to lay.

Mine say hey!

 

[joannde]

Agree - if you don't lower the water level then they tend to crawl out, which is how I lost many of mine - they were going to the basket on the HOB filter, laying their eggs and then falling to the tile floor - OUCH, shattered shells. I've left my water level as high as always but have now rolled up a bedsheet to put behind the tank to catch the dudes as they skydive down w/out their parachutes !

Hello from my albino (blackie, in the back is shy LOL)

 

[scalesojustice]

i've got three snails in my 10 gal with my three mollies and let me say that i like the snails a lot more and they have grown considerably since i purchased them about a month ago. my dream is that they eat the mollies so i can put some real fish in there.

i love it when my guys climb to the top of the tank or plants and then take the express elevator down by retreating into their shells and falling to the bottom.

do you think i'll be able to put some snails in my large tank with a couple blood parrots and a peacock eel?

 

[joannde]

I don't specifically about putting a Mystery Snail with a peacock eel or blood parrots but I can tell you that the snails are very peaceful and those long tentacles, and their eye stems can be quite interesting to some fish and the poor little snails can get picked on to death. I actually had to take the snails out of the betta tank because the ghost shrimp were picking on them ! I guess the only way to tell is the try it and watch closely - if you see any picking be sure to have a Plan B to resort to (ie: another small tank for the snail - you're gonna fall in love with him and want to keep him LOL)

 

[scalesojustice]

well i'm hoping that my three mystery snails give me some eggs so i can have an endless supply of the little buggers. rest assured i would have extra room for picked-on snails. and if i didn't, i would probably make room.

 

[joannde]

I had three egg sacks, one hatched - but unfortunately the little ones didn't make it (but I have no idea why - I thought I did everything exactly like my research had told me ... oh well). Hopefully you'll have better luck

 

[scalesojustice]

how long did it take before you saw egg sacks? i've had mine for over about a month and haven't seen anything. i'm hoping i didn't get all males.

 

[Jarred Darque]

It took me having 3 snails for about 3 months before Isaw eggs, and I had two egg clusters withing 5 days of each other both have hatched, I have about 200 small apple snails now. Waiting on more egg clusters. Dont have any albinos though for parents, if some of the kids are albineos, I will keep them, the others are getting sold.

 

[joannde]

HOLY SMOKES ! You've had alot of luck with your egg sacks. What's your secret ? Did you just leave the eggs where they were or did you create one of those floating rafts ? And did you put them into the tank immediately after they hatched ? I had my in their own little tank - apparently I did something wrong along the way.

BTW, it took me having 6 or 7 snails for about 6 months before I saw eggs.

 

[onah]

u know i still havent seen any, i have had about 16 for a while(2months), i am now some where in the 80's, i had a cana clutch delivered and that hatched. But yeah i am not hooked, lol. HAHAHAHA heres a new one for the books Multiple Snail Syndrome(MSS), lol, and mine say,

"Que Honda!"

 

[gautier]

question regarding snails.

i've heard that you have to maintain calcium in the tank to keep their shells hard and healthy. is that true? anyone have methods of doing this? i bought some coral shell calcium from the drugstore (calcium carbonate) and i dunno what to do with it.

i posted a similar question about calcium and KH here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=88636

 

[joannde]

If you have "hard water" then you probably don't need to add extra calcium - I don't. If your water is soft you can add a small piece (about the size of a nickle) of cuttlebone (sold in the pet bird dept) for the snails to munch on.
I don't know about calcium carbonate from the drug store - it might be very finely ground which could cloud your water and / or dissolve too fast. You could put a small handfull of crushed coral into your tank (sold in the Saltwater section of your LFS) - it dissolves slower and will also raise your pH and hardness.

 

[Jarred Darque]

I lef tthe eggs where they where. one clutch onloy hatched about 75% the other the almsot all hatched.

As for the calcium quistuion, I have some argonite crushed coral in one of my filters, along with some 14 day feeder blocks, which are almost pure calcium.

 

[jsoong]

I have one egg clutch now (1 week old - the female laid the clutch about 2 weeks after I got her). I am hoping some will hatch. What do you do with the babies? I am tempted to leave the babies in the main tank (lots of food, no risk of poor water ....) but I think the golds might make quick meals of them .... Advice?

 

[Mosaic]

Snackin'. My other blue was sitting on my pleco, but I didn't get a good pic of that one.

Yes, I only have 3 mysteries, which is pathetic compared to some of you. But keep in mind I have 5 snail species, with 2 more species on the way. The collecting gets to be a mania, at times.