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Carp37

Carp37

Catfish and Cichlid lover
Jul 11, 2007
314
0
0
Aughton, UK
For the past fortnight I've been looking for one of my five apple snails- even moving about all the tank decor didn't locate him/her. Moving a chest of drawers this morning, I found him- dried up on the floor. As his shell felt quite heavy and he didn't smell I decided to float him in a container in one of my tanks, and sure enough he's alive. I knew they could survive a couple of days out of water, but I'm amazed he's survived a fortnight, coupled with the temperature shock.

Does anyone know how long they can survive out of water?

Also, I've currently got 3 batches of eggs from them- am I right in thinking they're Pomacea canaliculata with the eggs being bright orange? (I can't get an in focus shot)

applesnaileggs2.jpg
 
i have heard of Pomacea canaliculata eggs being orange, but for the life of me i cant remember. it might of been www.applesnail.net as jinkz said.

nice 1 on your snail making it.
 
msjinkzd said:
They can survive several weeks out of water, congrats that he did! Those are definately not bridgesii eggs. I would look over at www.applesnail.net to see what type, but I think you are probably correct.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jinxzy- it was that website that I was using for egg ID. My eggs (the first ones) were laid a little over 3 weeks ago- I'm not sure if I'm reading their site correctly, but it seems to suggest splitting their eggs underwater if they've not hatched in 3 weeks? That seems a bit risky for air-breathers- is it correct?
 
Yup, I do it with most of the clutches I have hatched. I kinda squeeze them gently and then swirl them around in hte water. They babies fall out. Even if the clutch hatched naturally, the babies immediately descend into the water. They have a siphon, but also a lung. I haven't ever hatched canas (as I can't get my grubby paws on any) but with bridgesii clutches it works well. I have also heard of people using toothpicks to gently break apart the clutch. The water method works really well as the egg casing sort of dissolves in water.
 
yes i use a cocktail stick to gently open the clutch when ready. may be a bit more time consuming but dont want any lil fellows getting stuck in the clutch and drying out.
 
Thanks Jinx, Bullit- I tried breaking the oldest clutch up last night but with no successful hatchings that I can see. I did get another clutch laid last night though so I've still got three clutches to play with....

I'm not sure if the eggs were fertile or not- the apple snails have been clambering over each other and seemingly sticking together, a fair bit recently, so I'm assuming I've got at least one male and they're breeding, but I can't be sure. It's a lot easier with hermaphrodite snails!
 
Carp, I believe yours are Pomacea canaliculata. Those are pink eggs that I always see from ditches, canals, rice paddies, etc. I have them myself and refused to put them in my planted tank after managing to chomp away several plants. It's my mistake to think they won't.lol

Furthermore, I obtained a clutch after a stroll around ditches. Took three weeks to hatch the clutch and managed to get only about 15. I placed them near the aquarium light and filter running with splashes. Got a surprise when I saw about a dozen crawling around when I thought they'll never hatch at all.
 
Thanks Lupin- I believed them to be canaliculata from the shape and colour of the egg clutch. They start off very pale orange and gradually darken to bright orange, but I've seen no other evidence of egg development so I don't know if they're fertile or not. The clutch I inadvertently massacred didn't seem too dry or too wet, but the egg case certainly doesn't seem to dissolve in water. I'll leave the other clutches a bit longer to see if any can hatch naturally, otherwise I'll have to try putting them in a container with a damp towel.

It doesn't concern me if they eat plants as I don't have any! They will sometimes eat courgette, but not always, so it probably depends on whether they're getting enough vegetable matter in their diet.
 
Hmmm...The eggs that I obtained which failed to hatch turned palest pink to white. I saw no hint of the eggs turning orange at all. I'll have to try to get some clutches and hatch them again when I manage the time. If I can, I'll try to record what I observe. As these are invasive species in my area, they aren't a problem to obtain for me.:)
 
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