Please help! My blue mystery snail laid eggs!!

[NilsBaees]

Okay, here's what happned....

I have two blue mystery snails that I've had for 3 months. They get along very well and mate a lot. They have never laid eggs before. But I know that the maximum that my tank can sustain is two snails. So I didn't lower the water level or do anything fancy with the temperature (it's still 76 degrees) and I didn't change the food, either (I only occasionally feed snail jello). So I thought that since conditions weren't great for breeding (especially the high water level), they wouldn't lay eggs and I wouldn't be faced with the problem of a million little mystery snails that I would love to keep, but am not able to care for.

Yesterday I was tired after track practice and I was going to go to bed. But I fed my fish first, as I always do. However, when I opened the lid, there were these huge pink grub things stuck to the filter box (PICTURE 5)! It shocked me so much I actually dropped the lid and tripped onto the floor. (Pathetic, I know. The only eggs I am used to are ramshorns.) I managed to get back up, trembling, and found myself grinning at the possibility of eggs. And they were. I figured they must have been laid while I was at school that day.

I thought about them all day today at school. And now I have a lot of questions. If anyone possibly knows what to do, I would be SO grateful. I kind of feel like a grandma, actually...haha.

1) Why did the snail lay eggs even though I didn't "prompt" them to by lowering the water line?
2) How did two whole clutches of eggs get laid in 1 day?
3) How did two whole clutches of eggs fit into the snail?
4) I definitely cannot support all of these snails, but I feel so sad at the idea of killing "my" babies. The most I may keep is one or two so I don't have to buy more when the parents die. What do I do with them? (Feed to goldfish?)
5) Can I somehow transport them? Do I need to, while I'm deciding what to do with them?
6) Last night, one of the clutches looked velvety and smooth (PICTURE 1), while the other had a shiny web-ish pattern on it (PICTURE 2). Today, the velvety clutch is starting to have the shiny web pattern (PICTURE 3). Is it some stage of development?
7) The tip of one of the clutches was white and dried out, and the shells were kind of broken-looking...(PICTURE 4)
8) Does anyone want them? How would I ship them?

I'm really sorry for all the questions. I hope you guys understand how I feel about these little eggs, haha.

 

[jackiomy]

First off, Very cool pics;

1) Why did the snail lay eggs even though I didn't "prompt" them to by lowering the water line? Snails lay eggs anyway just like chicken do even if they aren't fertile. Just a girl thing. You should drop your waterline though. They have been known to leave the tank looking for a place to lay their eggs.

2) How did two whole clutches of eggs get laid in 1 day? I don't have a clue how they do that.

3) How did two whole clutches of eggs fit into the snail? See question 2. LOL

4) I definitely cannot support all of these snails, but I feel so sad at the idea of killing "my" babies. The most I may keep is one or two so I don't have to buy more when the parents die. What do I do with them? (Feed to goldfish?) i would freeze one of the clutches right away so the babies don't develop. I went through 6 or 7 clutches before any were viable.

5) Can I somehow transport them? Do I need to, while I'm deciding what to do with them? I don't think you can transport them as they need to be kept humid and warm but I am not an expert.

6) Last night, one of the clutches looked velvety and smooth (PICTURE 1), while the other had a shiny web-ish pattern on it (PICTURE 2). Today, the velvety clutch is starting to have the shiny web pattern (PICTURE 3). Is it some stage of development? I never looked that close.
I would imagine so.

7) The tip of one of the clutches was white and dried out, and the shells were kind of broken-looking...(PICTURE 4) They dry out all over eventually, perfectly natural.

8) Does anyone want them? How would I ship them? See question 5.

I am sure someone more experienced than I will have more suggestions. Don't panic. It is all about nature. Have fun with your babies.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

i'm not sure if goldfish would eat them. i do know that until the babies reach a decent size, say half an inch, no lfs or petstore will take them (at least in my neck of the woods they don't). do you have fishkeeper friends in your locale that would like some snails in their tanks? you could also feed the itty bitties to most cichlids, i know they like snails!

i agree with jackiomy, freeze one clutch (just put it in a ziploc) and then toss it in the garbage. from my experience breeding apple snails, each clutch can give you ALOT of babies, over 100 most of the time, and your clutches look pretty darn big......
you might try saving just a portion of one clutch by carefully cutting away what you don't want to keep and freezing and tossing. be careful that the part you are keeping does not detach from the tank lid. that way you can control how many snails are allowed to hatch. call it bbc, brigg birth control. lol.

there is a possibility, as jackiomy said, that the eggs might not even be viable and you may not end up with lil snails, but on the off chance they are good eggs, you don't want to be playing connect the dots from 4 to 400......hahahaha.

i don't think a clutch of eggs would travel well, and unless you know what to do about hatching them out if they are no longer in the tank, it wouldn't work, IMO.

i think if they just laid eggs you have a little bit of time to think about options that we've mentioned. they could hatch in a week, might take 4 weeks.

.......then again...... you could set up a snail only tank.........hehehee.

and yes, relax. enjoy your shellkids, lol.

btw, how big is this tank these clutches are in?

 

[Lupin]

1) Why did the snail lay eggs even though I didn't "prompt" them to by lowering the water line?

Snails tend to do that with or without your encouragement. They will find suitable locations if there is no room to lay eggs around.

2) How did two whole clutches of eggs get laid in 1 day?

How can you be sure about this? It may be possible you missed one of the egg clutches. One of your egg clutches showed considerable possibility that it had been there longer than the other with the way the eggs have changed in color.

3) How did two whole clutches of eggs fit into the snail?

Never underestimate the snails. I have canas that lay eggs daily.

4) I definitely cannot support all of these snails, but I feel so sad at the idea of killing "my" babies. The most I may keep is one or two so I don't have to buy more when the parents die. What do I do with them? (Feed to goldfish?)

Cut part of the egg clutch that you want to hatch and dispose the rest by crushing or freezing them.

5) Can I somehow transport them? Do I need to, while I'm deciding what to do with them?

Transport them in what manner? As long as they are kept damp, they will hatch assuming the eggs are fertile of course.

6) Last night, one of the clutches looked velvety and smooth (PICTURE 1), while the other had a shiny web-ish pattern on it (PICTURE 2). Today, the velvety clutch is starting to have the shiny web pattern (PICTURE 3). Is it some stage of development?

The eggs were newly laid and fresh. The color changes as time progresses. Once the eggs turn almost white with blue tinge, it may signal the eggs are ready to hatch. Give it five weeks.

7) The tip of one of the clutches was white and dried out, and the shells were kind of broken-looking...(PICTURE 4)
8) Does anyone want them? How would I ship them?

Wrap them in a damp tissue paper and seal them in a container. You can then mail it to another person.

 

[Lupin]

i'm not sure if goldfish would eat them.

It'll depend on the goldfish. Ryukins are known to peck at snails that they notice especially apple snails. I mix my pearlscales and fantails with apple snails with no issues so far though.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

still think another tank for just the snails is in order here...... muwahahahaha.....


what can i say? it's the MTS making me do it! lol.

 

[Bubbles2112]

OOOOOhhh!! I am all for another tank!!!

Come on now kiddo, you know that your going to get another one anyway so why wait???

Join US!!!!! MUHHhhhhhhhhaaaaaaah! MTS is calling your name!!!!



P.S. Your pictures are very good!!!

 

[BettaFishMommy]

As it is, i may have to set up another tank, i woke up just in time this morn to catch one of my blue briggs laying a double clutch. this brings me to 4 clutches, three from blues, one from a jade.

might just have to go into business as a snail vendor for my neck of the woods, lol!

 

[NilsBaees]

Thank you everyone for all the help! I never expected all the great responses (especially the cool question-by-question answers).

First off, Very cool pics;

Thank you. I have zero picture skill--it's all the camera, haha!

from my experience breeding apple snails, each clutch can give you ALOT of babies, over 100 most of the time, and your clutches look pretty darn big......

call it bbc, brigg birth control. lol.

btw, how big is this tank these clutches are in?

big? uh oh. hahaha bbc!!!! it's a 6 gallon tank. And with my fish, even two snails is already pushing the limit.

It'll depend on the goldfish.

They are common feeder goldfish, just...grown up.

OOOOOhhh!! I am all for another tank!!! Come on now kiddo, you know that your going to get another one anyway so why wait??? Join US!!!!! MUHHhhhhhhhhaaaaaaah! MTS is calling your name!!!! P.S. Your pictures are very good!!!

Hahahaha! If I had things my way (and not my parents'), I would have SO many tanks. All snail, all shrimp, etc etc etc. Makes me happy when I think about it. And thank you! Like i said, it's all the camera

might just have to go into business as a snail vendor for my neck of the woods, lol!

haha! SunshinePuppies actually said he/she wanted them, so if my mom lets me, I might try my hand at shipping. I just hope they turn out ok.

Thanks again, everyone who replied!

 

[Lupin]

If they're one of the single tail varieties, they could be comets or shubunkins. They'll work with snails just fine.