Sterile Pomacea diffusa (AKA Mystery Snails)?

I've keep mystery snails before, but I never actively encouraged them to breed. Whenever I came across egg clutches I would remove them etc. However I've gathered from multiply sources (msjinkzd being one among others) that they are good to keep in breeding/fry tanks (I keep a few breeding/fry tanks). As a result I made a few incubators & started to remove new egg clutches to place them in these incubators.

I keep the incubators in a heated/hooded tank to maintain a consistent temperature. I keep the inside of the incubators humid with damp paper towels while keeping the eggs themselves "dry" replacing the paper towel they are laid out on whenever it gets damp.

But despite my efforts the eggs never develop & hatch. I've got 3 big mystery snails in a 29g tank that are always laying clutches & this is where I harvest the egg clutches from. Is there something else I should be or can be doing to get these clutches to hatch? These snails lay clutches pretty regularly (about 3 - 6 per week) but I'm beginning to think that I either have all females (due the to frequency I find clutches, about 1 daily) or a sterile male (or 2) among the trio. Would females even lay eggs without a male present?

Any similar past experiences & thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks

sora1600 said:

Have you tried Mgamer's way, using a AC sponge? That works for me. The paper towel did not. I think there has to be a male and female present for female snails to lay eggs.

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No I have not tried Mgamer's way as I am not familiar with it. What exactly is his method & how does it different from the "paper towel method"? Does the sponge take the place of the paper towels? Do you still use Tupperware containers as "incubators"? If switching from one method to the other provided you with results then I am willing to give it a shot myself.

sora1600 said:

Yep it's the same. Instead of using paper towels, use the AC sponge and fill the container until it reaches half the sponge. I did not put mine in the tank and just kept it on the shelf. When they hatch, they fall to the water while the un-hatched eggs are still on the sponge.

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Sweet :thm: thanks for elaborating Sho. I'll definitely give that a try, I've got extra sponges laying around & trying a new method can't hurt any right? Thanks again

Anyone else experience similar issues trying to get egg clutches to hatch? Just want to get as much feedback as possible.