Apple snails babies --- now what

[jsoong]

My first clutch of eggs (3.5 weeks) appears to be hatching .... I had knocked the clutch off accidentally so it is now sitting on a styrofoam raft in a home made breeding trap. Yesterday, I noticed that the eggs are getting holes & I saw a few babies on the styrofoam. However, none of the babies are moving ... no sign of life at all. There is no sign of any babies in the trap so I don't think any made it into the water.

My question - what to do with the rest of the babies should they hatch .... do they need to go into the water right away after hatching, or can they sit on the raft for a while without dying (it is kept moist witha paper towel wick)?
will the babies show any sign of life when hatched? or is what I am seeing normal?
should I break apart the egg clutch & flush the babies into the water now, or wait?

TIA

 

[plecoperson]

They should be OK out of water for 8-12 hours. I would crumble (gently!) the clutch into water now; once some start to hatch they're all ready to go.

 

[onah]

i had alot of excess eggs i am guessing duds that never hatched with mine so i would use a qtip to get them out of the little container, and leave the rest in the thing, i checked evrydday and pulled snails out as late as 4dayz after they started hatching.