Quickly set up a tank for baby apple snails...

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Bullnugget

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 6, 2013
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130
Location
Ohio
Found a clutch last night, also found two snails which appeared to be mating last night. Problem is I don't want a few hundred baby snails in my community tank. Figured I could get a 10 or 15 gallon tank and stick it in there for when it hatched....How can I go about setting one up and cycling it kinda quick? I also plan on changing substrate and will have a bunch of gravel I could use as well....Most likely these snails will be sold to friends who will use them as food, sorry if that upsets anyone but it is the cycle of life.

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I put mine in a 5 gallon tank, (cycles much quicker) just be sure that the clutch doesn't get to wet the babies won't hatch.
 
think I will use the filter from my acf tank as well. The filter doesn't seem to be enough for that tank. Also how do I move this thing safely?
 
If you mean the clutch, you take something like a putty knife and gently slide it underneath, and it will lift off pretty cleanly. Sometimes you can just pick one up but you risk damaging it that way.

You can put it in a deli container, with a damp paper towel on the bottom, and something to prevent the clutch from touching the paper. Plastic mesh, something like that, whatever you have. Then you can float the container in a tank, to keep it temperature stable. Poke a few small holes in the lid, you don't want it so wet in there you get condensation, too wet will drown the snails, possibly. Just nicely humid.

When you see signs of hatching, anytime within two to four weeks, depending what report you read, let them fall into the water you have ready for them. They have a yolk they live on at the very first, but will soon be all over the glass eating biofilm, and you can feed them algae tabs, fish flakes, whatever you have really. Just don't allow a big food buildup, when they are small, poor water can take them out pretty fast.

A filter is needed, but you can cycle a new one in days by cleaning the one you have and pouring the rinse water into the new filter. The rinsings will have enough BB to get a new filter off to a fast start. Run the new filter on the main tank until you are ready to put it on the new one, or put the snails in the new tank, the adult ones, to keep the filter fed until the babies arrive. Or a couple of fish would do as well.
 
You can set the eggs on a sponge then put the sponge in a plastic container with a little water in the bottom. I have raised several clutches like that. Keep in mind that they can quickly over power a filters ability to keep the ammonia down as they grow. I found that out the hard way. I sell most of mine as feeders while they are still small. Seems cruel at first but it is the cycle of life. Everything is food for something else.
 
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