mts help.

[ajwetton]

So I had an mts sneak in on a plant I bought and I kept it cause my other snails had died off. I thought it was just one but apparently not cause I just noticed l Iike 8 babies in my tank tonight, they do require a mate to breed right? Any help would be appreciated in population control etc. Thanks!

 

[Jev12]

I found that they don't need a mate to breed...but the good thing is they only give live birth to one baby at a time....I don't know how often they have a baby though...I have a small 1.5 gallon critter carrier I keep them in and I only started with like 15 or 20 but now I have a whole bunch

 

[Fishfur]

Ah, not quite. They lay eggs inside an internal pouch, and release them at the surface when they reach the right size. They have several babies at a time, I am not sure of the maximum number, but certainly more than one. I've seen them doing this and it is why they can reach high numbers in a short space of time.

There are other snails with similar shaped shells that do indeed have only one baby at a time, also from an egg laid inside the shell and protected there until it is developed enough to fend for itself. Orange rabbit snails, elephant snails are two that have single babies.

 

[Mogurako]

There are other snails with similar shaped shells that do indeed have only one baby at a time, also from an egg laid inside the shell and protected there until it is developed enough to fend for itself. Orange rabbit snails, elephant snails are two that have single babies.

I believe assassin snails are also another snail that have only one at a time.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

So I had an mts sneak in on a plant I bought and I kept it cause my other snails had died off. I thought it was just one but apparently not cause I just noticed l Iike 8 babies in my tank tonight, they do require a mate to breed right? Any help would be appreciated in population control etc. Thanks!

MTS are actually very useful snails. Their population will be a tell tale sign of if you are over feeding your fish or not. If they are appearing during the day (instead of burrowed in the substrate like normal until night when they come out) that is a tell tale sign that there may be a water parameter out of wack such as ammonia. They will aerated the gravel for plant roots (if you keep live plants) and they also do not eat the plants themselves. I have them in all of my tanks.

If you want to remove them, it will take a lot of time and patience. Snail traps work, limiting the food you feed your fish works, assassin snails work, and loaches just love to eat them.

 

[Fishfur]

+1 for MTS being very useful snails.

But also difficult to eradicate entirely once you have them.