Snail Eggs

[phreakkn0t]

How long do the eggs take to hatch. I have a bunch of egg bunches on plants. I moved the plants to another container so nothing will eat them when they first hatch. They are just normal pond snails. Is there a way to tell if they have been fertilized already?

 

[karna68]

Oh they will hatch, pond snails are hermaphrodites so they fertilize their own eggs. They take a couple weeks to hatch.

 

[plah831]

just so you know, hermaphroditism doesn't necessarily mean they fertilize their own eggs. Some can, and they're called self-fertilizing, but most have to mate with another individual. I'm almost 100% sure this is what snails do. It just means they can mate with any other member of their species, not just one of the "opposite" sex because everyone has both kinds of gametes.

phreakknot, I don't believe there's an easy way to tell if snail eggs have been fertilized. If there is, you'll need a microscope. They should start to develop (and you can see the babies develop, the globs inside the jelly start to change color from white to brown) within a week or two. Depending on the temperature. If you have the eggs at tropical temp (70+ deg F), they will develop much faster than those at room temp.

 

[phreakkn0t]

I have them in a non heated container so I can get them out easier for my DPs when the time comes and not lose them in the gravel. I put the 3 snails that laid the eggs in the container with them too just incase they werent already fertilized. They are all still white eggs in the sacs so Ill have to keep an eye on them. Its actually a really small container for the time being as Im limited in space but I hope to eventually set up a breeder tank for them down the road.

 

[plah831]

I hear ya (about losing snails in gravel). Some people breed feeder snails in tiny containers and horrible water quality. It's OK for now, especially if you keep the water clean by changing it at least every other day. Remember, clean water equals healthy snails equals healthier dp's

In an unheated container, it'll take about 4-6 weeks to go from eggs to edible-sized little snails, just to warn you. In my tropical tanks, that time is cut down to 2 and 1/2 to 3 weeks.

 

[phreakkn0t]

wow 4-6 weeks? The way people talked about snail invasions I expected them to hatch alot faster than that. Guess my DPs will be on just bloodworms for awhile yet heh.

 

[plah831]

they'll hatch in about two weeks in cold water, but the babies won't grow fast. It might take them a few weeks after hatching to get a little bigger than a dp's eye (about 3 mm in diameter).

 

[kraemerwa2003]

I am planning on breeding these snails in a 10 gallon so that I can feed my dwarf puffers. My local petsmart and petco will gladly give them to me for free, so just a matter of getting another tank to put them in...I never actually thought that it would take so long for them to to be big enough for my puffers (come on, they're snails!!)

 

[plah831]

kraemer, a heater in that tank would help a lot! I can't use a heater in my snail breeding containers because they're big plastic buckets.

If anyone wants to buy some adult common ramshorn snails as breeders and some little ones for immediate feeding, I'd send you a couple dozen total for $6 (that includes shipping!). Mine have bred so well that I need to consolidate

The first couple months are the slowest, but after that there's almost a constant supply of dwarf puffer snack size snails!