How to get my snails to breed??

[KKAY27]

Just recently bought a new tank just for my snails because my angelfish in my 55g was pecking at them when they would try to go to the top! So i put them in this tank. They have been in there for about a week! The tank didnt come with a heater and i read they need the water to be warm to breed! The temperature is 76f there is no ammonia but my ph is a little high. I have also lowered the water level and i turn all the lights off at night time! There are about 14 in there to! Why dont i have any eggs????

 

[HN1]

What type of snails?

 

[KKAY27]

Mystery snails

 

[Khuligirl93]

A high pH is good for snails
Only a week? You need to be patient! They're probably still adjusting to the new tank. Also what have you been feeding them? A tank that is only 1 week old will not have any algae for them to eat. Also it will not be cycled. Going through the cycling process could stress the snails so they don't want to breed. It takes a few months to cycle a tank.
Read these articles:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-jus...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/

 

[KKAY27]

I feed them flake food and a couple algae wafers! Thank you for the information and the link it has helped a lot! Should i feed them slices of cucumber?

 

[Fishfur]

You can feed them a bit of cuke if you like. Boiled spinach is good too. But first makes sure the tank is cycled.. if not, you won't see breeding and might lose the snails. Inverts are very sensitive to water parameters.
They also do not need tropically warm water to breed. They're fine at room temperatures, no heater is needed.

Edit. I'd also make sure they have a calcium supplement. Some use Tums, but I prefer to use either the vacation fish feeder blocks or home made versions of the feeder blocks. Get plaster of paris at Home depot, mix it with water and you'd need something for a mould.. flexible or silicone ice cube trays work well for that. Mix some fish flakes or pellets into the wet plaster, mould and let dry for 24 hours.

Drop one in the tank and replace when it's gone. They'll eat the plaster which is pure calcium, while going for the fish food mixed into it.

 

[HN1]

Cuttlebone is the best, easiest, safest, calcium supplement IME. Less chance to foul the water.

 

[Fishfur]

I can't argue that cuttlebone is safe. It is.

But it takes awhile before it will sink, unless you weight it. So for awhile it just floats. It's a bit expensive compared to some other types of supplements, even if I buy it in the bird department. And the first one I tried to use, once it did sink, broke into a number of small pieces that mostly got buried in the substrate. Never once did I see a snail eating one, or see any sign that they'd been eating them.

So now I prefer the vacation feeder blocks. Never had any issues with them, they are eaten so quickly.

 

[Autumnsky]

I like using Hikari Crab Cuisine, doesn't foul the water and they really like it. It has good stuff for the formation of shells. Also use Hikari algae wafers as well and other foods too.

My water is a little soft so I use the Cuttlebone and it helps the water. Mine will be on it occasionally. It can float no big deal, just make sure the soft part is down and the shell is up.

They should be healthy with good water params and a cycled tank is best. The water down a couple inches is good, warm temp and time.

They like a good 50% water change every once in awhile. I see mine lay eggs after that.

If you see greenish color inside the shell toward the middle, I understand that is the ovaries swelling to produce eggs. Check out applesnaildotnet if you haven't seen it yet. (the dot is a . in the above address)

They will start to lay eggs when they are almost quarter sized. One egg clutch can get you a couple hundred babies so be careful what you wish for...

Then you need to have very excellent filtration and regular water changes, and enough room for them all to grow well.