Free: Apple/Mystery Snails

I have an abundance of brown and purple Pomacea diffusa (that I bred/raised) in a variety of sizes.  Both colors have the striped allele (dark/cream), dark feet, and speckled bodies.  My herd is growing in number and physical size, so must pare down.  Going to see about making some deals with the LFS's or sell some on Craigslist; but free to club members first... just let me know.  

Very cute and interesting additions to freshwater aquarium.  Link to general care/info about here.  I feed them a variety of flakes, pellets [for bottom feeders like my cory cats], veggies (yellow squash, cucumbers, carrots, pumpkin, kale), frozen blood worms, and calcium tablets.

I would be interested in some . How many would you suggest per tank? I have two 29gal & a55.  Steve

How many you want is totally up to you, but I'd say around 3-5 for each tank. Maybe a couple more for the 55. You can always add more if you like them too (and you know where to get them ). Just let me know when you'd like to pick some up. I'll PM you my contact info.

Thanks Becky for the snails they are a welcomed addition to our tanks. I am surprised how quickly they move about. fed them some cucumber tonight . and now I know where the expres​sion( stick a fork in it ) comes from. lol   and why you had a fork in your pumpkin.   Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm glad you're enjoying them, Steve;  I find them captivating.  I'll sit and watch them, and watch them...   .  And when I see them let go or fall from the top to the bottom of the tank, I have to verbally make the sound effect, "Wheeeee!!!"  Ok... so now you know... I'm a geek/nerd.  

"Stick a fork in it" - LOL!  Yep.  Actually I need to go back to Goodwill and get some more extra "veggie" forks.  

And I am very much enjoying the guppies!!!  They are very active and so cute. Thank you!

And a very Happy Thanksgiving to you...   (P.S.  Stick a fork in me now, I'm done! - after eating Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom's)

" />                       Had these show up today, Thanks again!

Those look like nice big clutches too! If you want to hatch them, just leave them be (or carefully move to a humid spot in another tank above water). The only reason I move mine to a separate hatching tank is because I have small pest snails in my 75 gal. and don't want to inadvertently smoosh any of the "good" snails while on a murderous rampage against the pest ones. If you don't want the clutch to hatch, just remove and throw it away.

In around 2 weeks the babies will hatch and fall out into the water. They will drown if their clutch falls into the water before they are ready to hatch; but the individuals need to fall out into the water once they are ready. The clutches will turn a darker, grayer shade and you may be able to vaguely distinguish the little snails inside. This is when they are ready. You might see some of the clutch cells open and empty when they start hatching.

As soon as they hatch they don't have any special requirements. They will eat the same as their parents. It's best, however, to not have them in such a huge space that they can't find food (they are very small and it takes time and energy for them to travel to find food). Leaving algae on the tank sides is recommended for the little boogers to eat too, in the first couple of weeks.

I hope you are enjoying them!

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Ganging up on a green bean.

Pretty cool. Always neat to see the 'oddball' stuff being spawned.

Let us know how they turn out.

If everyone starts having all these snail spawn, we may have to have a escargot party!

DZ

Love the pics.

Escargot party? Ummm.... no, lol.

I hope you have as many guppy's as I got snail's . Thanks again.

Well, I guess you don't have to worry about where to find more if you like them, lol. I see those 2 big clutches were quite successful! Nice to see the pics too. I hope you have as much fun as I've had rearing them. I just wish I could breed some different colors. All I've gotten so far are the brown and purple. I guess I need to isolate the few yellow, ivory, and "blue" (ivory with dark body) ones I have, before having any success.

I can't tell yet whether the guppies have multiplied or not yet. How many do they usually drop in a single pregnancy? I saw some tiny ones soon after getting them from you; but I can't tell whether they've just grown now, or there are more. I didn't count them upon receiving. And the small ones are difficult to spot, keep track of, and count in my 75g. I have some Australian Rainbows now, as well as the albino/blue skirts and some black neons. I'm wondering if any of them might eat new fry. I have the floating plants they like to hang around, but they mostly just float on top of the water and may not offer enough cover.

Aren't their siphons amazing, lol (no, that's not an appendage you might think it is - which would be even more amazing!).  Here is some info on Apple Snail Respiration for anyone interested.  I remember the first time I saw one extend their siphon a great length   ; it's still a sight! The dark ones' siphons look banded; while the light ones' look speckled... pretty neat.

 They are still a l laying

Good grief.. lol! I've only had one clutch laid since giving you and David snails. Not that I'm complaining at all... I still have more than I need; and need to find the excess some alternate homes as I've got quite a few that are getting big now.

From my research, they supposedly lay eggs more throughout the summer months (?). They seem to go in waves or cycles for me... there will be one or two clutches a week for a bit - then nothing for a month or so. Apparently you got at least 2 fecund females! Population control is extravagantly easy though, due to the large size of the obvious clutches (can't miss them!), and as opposed to the nearly invisible clutches of pest snails (I don't think I've ever seen, found, or identified one yet!) - just remove and throw away.

But they sure are fun to raise, and pretty care-free. I'm thinking of turning one of my aquariums (other than the 5 gallon "snail nursery) into a snail-only tank. The snails learn to keep their antennae protected and don't extend them out after fish nip them off. And seeing them with their long, flowing antennae carousing around is like seeing a different species compared to snails who keep their antennae guarded. The antennae do grow back some, but not as long or magnificent as the original.

I wouldn't mind a few purple ones. Maybe at the next meeting.

Your new little purple friends will be coming to the next meeting, Gina.

Becky,

How do i move these to a different tank, just scrape them off?



David

I see the snail fertility Gods are shining on you now, lol! Yes, just scrape them off... either with a razor blade, or usually they will just slide with some gentle pressure sideways. Wait a few days after they are laid to remove them to allow them to harden up a bit. If you try to do it right after being laid, sometimes they are too soft and just smush. If they are relatively dry and stubborn... splash some water on them, wait a couple minutes, and then remove.

Are you removing to dispose, or do you have a plan yet of how to keep them suspended above water if moving to a different tank to hatch?

Hey, I've succeeded breeding jade (gold shell, no stripes, dark feet) and blue (ivory, no stripes, dark feet) snails now! Will have to update with pics and info... when I get the time. Have been meaning to update for a while now; but on my list of important things to do each day it never seems to rate high enough lately above all the other stuff that needs done.

I am moving them to save them. Do they have to have access to water when they hatch or actually fall into it?

DZ

I'm not sure, that's one burning question I've actually been wondering myself. I've kept the ones I moved on a lid with hole cut out and covered with screen and fabric mesh - suspended above water by jamming the lid in this perfectly sized space in between the filter parts for my 5 gallon. I don't have mesh/screen wide enough to allow them to fall right though (which would be ideal). So I just check them every day, starting about 1 1/2 weeks after being laid. I do try to keep some water sitting in the edge of the lid so they can have access when they start hatching. But then you have to be careful the clutch doesn't get jostled and roll to where it's sitting in the water. Then the babies will drown inside their cells. When I see them starting to hatch, I just take the clutch and gently crumble and swish it around with my fingers in the water. This frees the babies from their clutch cells and they fall out to the bottom. The only bad thing about this method is sometimes I don't think they are all quite ready to hatch at the same time. At times there'll be just slimy goo in parts of the clutch, like snail embryos, and not little snails that come out.

I tried making various rafts of popsicle sticks, excelsior, foam sponge, embroidery plastic grid with the hopes that they could just fall out into the water when ready... but none really worked quite right. For now I just watch them and move them into the water myself when I see them start hatching.

Don't give up on them if you don't see the babies crawling around at first much. It sometimes takes 1-4 days to see the little ones start moving around.

Thanks - how long do they take to hatch?

DZ

They seem to have a pretty generous span.  I had one hatch at 1 1/2 weeks, and a few up to 4 weeks.  Usually around 2 1/2 to 3 weeks.  Depends on temps, and I guess just when they're ready.  Higher temps = faster hatch.  Other than that, I'm not sure what else determines the incubation period.

The clutch will start getting darker, like a greyish color, kind of deteriorating, and not so plump and fresh looking as it was.  You might be able to see little dark spots (the babies) through the translucent egg when they get close to hatching.  Then you'll start to see some of the egg cells open and vacant... and maybe some of the little ones.  When you start seeing some of the little ones emerging that's when you can help them out by swishing and gently "crushing" the clutch with your fingers under the water - and let them fall out where they will.  You can either remove or leave the remnants of the clutch.  I read somewhere the little ones will eat it, but I haven't really seen that.  Of course at first they are so small you really can't tell what they're doing, lol.  But they grow relatively fast.

Does anybody still have any of these they would like to be rid of?