# how quickly do mystery snails grow ?



## Fishfur

Just wondering if anyone knows roughly how fast these snails grow. I have maybe two dozen hatchlings, from at least two or three spawns. The oldest ones are no more than 20 days old, with the largest ones up to about a quarter inch size. The youngest ones are about a week old and vary from the size of a sesame seed to about 1/8th inch. Clearly, they grow at varying rates.

What surprises me is how few actual hatchlings I get from a given egg mass. Some don't have any viable snails in them.

But I am wondering how long it is likely to be until they are, say, a half inch or so in size.


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## Zebrapl3co

Depends on what kind of mystery snails. Mine's grow at an alarming rate if you provide unlimited food.

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## randy

How long does it take for eggs to hatch? 

My first batch was laid more than 3 weeks ago and still no snail baby. And they are still pink so I think they haven't gone bad? After the first batch, I upped the feeding frequency and I now have like 5 patches of eggs now.... not sure what to do with them all if they hatch and I have to redo the tank in about a week....


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## bmc

mine seem to have hatched and i just noticed it myself the baby snails are really really tiny almost hard to spot...


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## randy

They are like mysteries. I found some baby snails a week ago I thought they were my apply snails. But the eggs were still where they were (and still are), so not sure what they are. I don't really want to breed them but they keep laying eggs and I have to take the tank down soon... troubles.


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## Fishfur

I have noted that about a half of all the spawns do not appear to hatch any live babies. The biggest one I got, I just happened to have the lid up and noticed the egg mass falling into the water so I grabbed it.. I know they can drown if they get wet too soon. I got about two dozen from that egg mass. Other's have provided a few, to six or so, or none at all. All of them are pink once dry and stay that way unless they fall in the water. Those that don't hatch appear to be full of clear gooey stuff when I break them open. 

My earliest hatchlings are about a quarter inch now.. the youngest are not much more than a big grain of sand. I put them all in a used algae culture bottle for a few days and they cleaned it almost spotless in two days time. So they sure do eat, given the chance. I kind of wonder if they ever stop growing ?


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## randy

But how long does it take to hatch? The first batch I have is almost 4 weeks and still nothing hatched. And eggs are still pink and no sign of fungus or going bad.


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## Fishfur

Near as I can tell, if you have not seen any hatchlings after about ten days you are not going to. Most of the egg masses I've had that have produced live young have done so less than ten days after being laid. Three masses started to come off the hood after less than a week, and when I broke them open there was nothing inside them but a gooey gel like substance. No dead baby snails.. just goo. So I think that at least a percentage of the spawnings appear to be sterile, but why I'm sure I could not say. 

I think all my snails spawned once, and all of them did so within a couple of weeks time. Since then, no more eggs, so I think they must do it on some sort of cycle. I should start keeping notes when the next ones show up, to get a better idea of timing.

But today I got some new snails, so maybe I'll get more eggs soon. I got some blue or black ones, not sure 'til I see them up close, and a gorgeous burgundy one.. he's dark purple with a burgundy/brown shell, really pretty. The others have shells that look ivory, maybe, but with the dark bodies inside it's hard to say what colour the shells truly are. Once they start climbing the glass I'll have a better idea what they look like. Aquatic Kingdom has a bunch of nice ones just now, in several colours, $2. ea.


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## randy

Thanks Karen for the info. My son checks the eggs everyday... it's his snails so I only feed bad because he is disappointed everyday. I have now at least 6 patches of apple snail eggs and I guess none of them will hatch. Maybe I only got females? It's okay though, I won't have a tank for them and they will compete with shrimps for food and they likely will always win ;-)


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## Pamelajo

mystery snail eggs or pomecea diffusa eggs can take up to a month to hatch sometimes a little over. It all depends on the temperature. They will start to look moldy and that means they are viable. Mine usually hatch around the 3 rd to 4th.
For more info www.applesnail.net has a ton:


> How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?
> The eggs of apple snail hatch between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on the temperature and the species. More info about this subject can be found at the Care section of this site.
> 'Care' section and 'Quick guide' section.


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## randy

Pamelajo said:


> mystery snail eggs or pomecea diffusa eggs can take up to a month to hatch sometimes a little over. It all depends on the temperature. They will start to look moldy and that means they are viable. Mine usually hatch around the 3 rd to 4th.
> For more info www.applesnail.net has a ton:


Hey, thanks. I read that site a while back when I got my son those apple snails. I told him it would be 2 weeks and today he sadly told me it's been just over 4 weeks for the first batch. They all still look pink, not much change as the looks when they were laid. However, I got more and more patches so hopefully some will hatch to make the 9 years old happy.


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## Fishfur

Thank you Pamelajo.. good to have a new source for information. Most of what I know is just from observation of my own snails. I've found that the egg masses that don't hatch tend to simply fall off the hood, usually a few days after being laid. The ones that stick around longer are the ones that have hatched for me. One mass I caught as it was falling into the water and I got nearly two dozen babies from that one, and it had only been there about 8 days. I have wondered if humidity may play a role.. my hood is a tight fit and it gets condensation on it at times, especially if the temperature rises. I've read the eggs don't want to be wet before they hatch. Also, I recently put a heater in because the Oto's like it warmer. Before that, no heater, so it was cooler. It will be interesting to see what effect warmer temps will have on future hatchling production.

My snails do eat a lot, but I don't think they cheat the shrimp out of much. Whisker shrimp certainly don't back down from them over food, in fact they are quite pushy over food. Snails tend to get the leftovers. 

Snowballs, otoh, rarely seem to go near the snails when they are on the substrate. The Snowballs seem to spend most of their time in the plant roots and on the wood. Ghost shrimp also will eat right beside a snail and not be pushed away by them. My largest snail is around golf ball size, but he still lets the shrimp get what they want most of the time. Mind, I do make sure the snails don't go hungry because I don't want them eating plants. They like spinach, so I give them a boiled leaf now and then.


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## Pamelajo

I hope you have good luck with them for his sake. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I have been keeping them for many years.


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## Pamelajo

Fishfur said:


> Thank you Pamelajo.. good to have a new source for information. Most of what I know is just from observation of my own snails. I've found that the egg masses that don't hatch tend to simply fall off the hood, usually a few days after being laid. The ones that stick around longer are the ones that have hatched for me. .


Try the baggy method wrap them in a damp(tank water) paper towel and put in a ziploc bag and use you lid to hold them in the water. Works like a little incubator or use a ziploc container with a little bit of the plastic sheets of mesh used of needle work use some styro strips to keep it off the bottom as it will get damp and you don't want them sitting in water. Put the lid on and float in your tank checking daily. Mist daily for both methods and they need to stay moist.


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## Fishfur

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that tip. I will try it with the next batch they lay. I'm hoping I'll see them breeding and figure out which are females, especially the new ones I just got. Burgundy and a couple of blue or black ones.. really nice looking. Burgundy guy has a purple foot.. it's beautiful !.. I think I might just go get a couple more so as to have a better chance at one being female, plus it is just a pretty snail to have.


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## Pamelajo

Not a problem. Some one once called them a tank full of jewels.


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## randy

Came home after a long long day at work around midnight and found baby apple snails. I saw some baby snails before in the tank but I knew those weren't apple snails, for the first time I saw baby apple snails and I knew right away what they were..... counted 20, I bet there are more. Yay !!!


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## Pamelajo

Congrats!! And yes there are probaby a lot more the clutches hold a minimum of 100 eggs depending on the size.


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## randy

Pamelajo said:


> Congrats!! And yes there are probaby a lot more the clutches hold a minimum of 100 eggs depending on the size.


I think only one out of 8 clutches hatched, and it's quite big a clutch too. The other clutches probably won't hatch. I think I know why now. This is the only clutch that was laid on the underside of a piece of 6"x6" glass I use to cover the tank, most other clutches were laid in more opened area of the tank wall.

I told my son this morning when he came in the car to school and he dropped the backpack and ran back upstairs to see the baby snails. He is a happy camper now.


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## Pamelajo

So nice to hear that he is a happy camper. If you plan on growing them out, you will need lots of room and fresh water changes. You may also want to add some calcium supplements to help with their shells as they will absorb it quickly out of the water column. Add veggies high in calcium will also help, spinach is one but there is some controversy as to it also containing calcium blockers. I still feed it once in awhile. Bok choy is a good one.


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## Fishfur

I managed to shoot a few minutes of video of one my snails laying her eggs the other night. It's pretty neat, though not exactly wildly exciting to watch. Like a little conveyor belt, one after another. If you think your son would like to see it, I can likely manage to email it to you at some point. I also saw snails mating the other day, and have 3 clutches in a baggie now with a damp paper towel.. hoping for the best.
Incidentally, the earliest of my hatches, which were only a few snails, are now nearly a half inch in size.. and they can't be more than six weeks old, as best I can recall when they were born. So they are growing quite well.


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## Fishfur

You hear about the oxylates blocking mineral absorption for humans too, but there's a lot of disagreement about it. Some say it does block absorption, no matter how you eat the spinach, others say say it only causes issues if you cook the spinach first. Snails sure seem to like spinach, though. Another green that has plenty of calcium is romaine lettuce.


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## randy

Fishfur said:


> You hear about the oxylates blocking mineral absorption for humans too, but there's a lot of disagreement about it. Some say it does block absorption, no matter how you eat the spinach, others say say it only causes issues if you cook the spinach first. Snails sure seem to like spinach, though. Another green that has plenty of calcium is romaine lettuce.


Since we can't prove for sure I try to believe a theory that sounds good enough. I still feed my shrimps and snails spinach but I feed them other greens too. It doesn't hurt anyway. I'm also using cuttlebone to give them more calcium too. I find it work very well.


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## Fishfur

Cuttlebone like you buy for parrots ? Interesting. 

Btw, if you really want to save money on veggies, and you have a source for dandelion leaves that are pesticide free and preferably have not been mowed down too often, they are a good source of calcium and many other vitamins and minerals too. And FREE !

I have read a lot on the business of oxylates in greens. Nobody seems to agree, but people have been eating them for centuries without much in the way of visible ill effects, so I just try to get variety, rather than stick to the same green day in day out.


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## randy

Fishfur said:


> Cuttlebone like you buy for parrots ? Interesting.
> 
> Btw, if you really want to save money on veggies, and you have a source for dandelion leaves that are pesticide free and preferably have not been mowed down too often, they are a good source of calcium and many other vitamins and minerals too. And FREE !
> 
> I have read a lot on the business of oxylates in greens. Nobody seems to agree, but people have been eating them for centuries without much in the way of visible ill effects, so I just try to get variety, rather than stick to the same green day in day out.


Funny timing. I was just at a supermarket and found them sell organic dandelion, I never noticed that because I never spent much time on the vegetable section until I have shrimps ;-) Just to add to the bunch, mulberry leaves are highly praised by a lot of shrimp keepers too. But I think we're off topic here 

PS: if you figure out how to send the video (the egg laying one, not the mating one ;-) to me and it's not too big, sure, my son would love it.


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## Fishfur

Didn't video the mating one.. it's not that, um, hot looking ?, anyway, just one snail riding on the back of another snail. If you didn't know what they were up to it looks completely benign. 

But I'll see how big the vid file is of the egg laying and you can let me know how large a file your inbox can handle. It is interesting if not exactly fast action.


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## randy

Fishfur said:


> Didn't video the mating one.. it's not that, um, hot looking ?, anyway, just one snail riding on the back of another snail. If you didn't know what they were up to it looks completely benign.
> 
> But I'll see how big the vid file is of the egg laying and you can let me know how large a file your inbox can handle. It is interesting if not exactly fast action.


I was just teasing about the other non-existence video. I have seen them doing it, but not egg laying. If you can figure out how, maybe post to youtube then post a link here?


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## Pamelajo

I also still feed spinach just not every day, and lots of variety. Homemade foods as well as lots of veggies. I also occasionally give mine fruit, they love watermelon.


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## randy

Pamelajo said:


> I also still feed spinach just not every day, and lots of variety. Homemade foods as well as lots of veggies. I also occasionally give mine fruit, they love watermelon.


Hi Pamelajo, have you kept apple snails in low ph low TDS tanks? I'm asking because most of my tanks are shrimp tanks and most of them have low PH (5.5-6.8) and low TDS (110-160), I'm not sure if they can grow healthily there, no breeding is fine, just don't want to kill them or give them too much stress.


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## Pamelajo

No I have not kept them in low ph tank anything under 7.2 can erode their shells, not sure of overall health.


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## Fishfur

Pam,I'm guessing you use a dehydrator to make those critter crumbs ? I have one too, I'm going to try dehydrating some romaine and spinach, then powder it and try feeding some of that and see how it goes. Your stuff sounds pretty darn good, I had a look at your site.. one of these days I'll have to try them, but meantime, my girlfriend is letting me grow veggies in her yard and I'm looking forward to having some nice organic home grown goodies, which I'll share with the critters, of course !

And the tank I keep most of my snails in usually has a fairly high Ph and typical hard local water. They seem to grow quite well in it. So far, I've only lost one snail and that was a zebra nerite I found empty lying on it's back. Don't know if it drowned or something else happened to it, but it is the only snail I have lost of any kind since I started with them. I've been told nerites sometimes have problems righting themselves if they fall on their backs.. which hardly seems to make sense, as it must happen to them in native habitat too, I'd think.


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## Pamelajo

Yes I have an industrial dehydrator and use it for the critter crumbs. Thanks for the kind words. Fresh veggies are great for them, unfortunately I have a small raised garden mine will be getting some of the cuks out of there. Almost have hubby talked into making another one so I can plant more stuff, like lettuce, swiss chard etc.


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## randy

Pamelajo, just took a look at your site too, looks interesting. Is the crumbs really crumbs like? Does it sink and how long do you recommend it to stay in water before removed (if uneaten).


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## Pamelajo

Hi Randy,
It is crumbie but not tiny crumbs unless it is the end of a bag. It does sink, but the tinier stuff will float for a bit. I always tell people if there is left over you are feeding to much. I would remove any left over by the end of the next day if still there. It is very compact.


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## KatC

Fishfur said:


> Just wondering if anyone knows roughly how fast these snails grow. I have maybe two dozen hatchlings, from at least two or three spawns. The oldest ones are no more than 20 days old, with the largest ones up to about a quarter inch size. The youngest ones are about a week old and vary from the size of a sesame seed to about 1/8th inch. Clearly, they grow at varying rates.
> 
> What surprises me is how few actual hatchlings I get from a given egg mass. Some don't have any viable snails in them.
> 
> But I am wondering how long it is likely to be until they are, say, a half inch or so in size.


My eggs have hatched but the larvae are taking a long time to grow..there’s tons of food too


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