All of my baby mystery snails have crawled inside the sponge

[melissasroja]

Will they come out on their own or should I try to mangle it and free them? The sponge is a big one and its inside the breeder net. They are all hatched yesterday and the day before. A good number of them all inside the sponge with the exception of a few who are in the breeder net.

 

[dchild]

I've had the same problem Melissa. Fishycat suggested that she carefully removes the newborns from the sponge and places them in the breeder net. I began doing this yesterday and today. Thus far, I've removed (160) baby snails from my first clutch to hatch. I used a magnifying glass, and a round toothpick to carefully push them out of the sponge holes and then used a blade from my pocket knife (with a flat end) and lifted them off the sponge and into my breeder tank.

My only quandry is after placed in the water, why they have crawled from the bottom, up the sides and freely sit just "above" the water line. I've asked fishykat if she has ever seen this situation before. It appears they would dry out and starve but so far every single snail is alive and doing well. They began to hatch the same day as yours.

Sorry I could'nt be more help, but I'm new at the snail rearing just like you. Good Luck...........

Keep in touch, and I will too.

dchild
www.riverbarktreasures.com

 

[melissasroja]

Im afraid Ill stab their little bodies! lol. I think Im going to get as many off of the sponge as I can and into the breeder net. Then Ill take a second breeder net and put the sponge into that. Ill mangle it into pieces so it isnt so huge and hopefully that will annoy them. Right now its a BIG Aquaclear Sponge for a 110 gallon filter so to them its prardise I think. As they crawl out of the sponge Ill move them into the net that doesnt have the sponge.

Have you checked your water? Ive always heard if snails crawl to above the water line and stay there for a while it might mean your water is having some issues. Mine are all under water in the net or inside this sponge.

Do you have any more eggs? I have another clutch thats a few days off. I didnt incubate this one. Its hanging right where mama snail popped it. Im hoping it will hatch on its own but figure if it doesnt I have plenty from this clutch anyway.

 

[dchild]

I've used water from one of my fish aquariums. It checks out good with a test strip. The funny thing about my baby snails is that they are all alive. If I raise the water level a little to cover them over, every single one of them just moves up some more until they are out of the water. As of this afternoon, I now have aro (200) babies. It appears that everything went well with the brooding period and the hatch as well. I just can't figure out why they want to sit just above the water line. The ones I put in a cloth breeding net seem to have stayed underwater. It's just the ones in the one-gallon aquarium that spend their time above the water line.

I have (14) clutches of Golden Mystery snail eggs still to hatch. I have them all on sponges with the exception of the last four laid in my 55-gal tank. I'm leaving them alone to see what happens. Like you, I have plenty already if these first ones survive. I hope someone chimes in on your post and gives a word of advice.

BTW, I began using a cotton Q-tip swab to move the last babies off the sponge. I think I'll begin to place wet paper towels under some of the remaining clutches to see if they can exit into the water on their own a little better.

Congrats on your new snail babies. What kind or color are they?

dchild
www.riverbarktreasures.com

 

[fishycat]

I did not hatch my clutches on top of a sponge... by sponge you mean something like an Aquaclear filter sponge? or a cleaning sponge?

I suppose you could put sinking food in the net (canned green beans, de-shelled peas or algae wafer) and check overnight. Float the sponge directly on the water if it's not already. The smell of food should draw them out.