Tony G.

i want one! i just gotta wait for my cycle to finish!

SWilkins

Tony they can and will crawl out. I have used mesh and screening taped on my tanks with snails to block any and all openings and I still found one out this morning. I put the little stinker back in the tank but only time will tell. Thank goodness no shell damage this time. I have had them fall when they crawl out and do some major damage to their shells and some even died from it.

I use the recipes from www.applesnail.net for snail jello and pumpkin cookies and the snails and fish love them. I also add regular old calcium tablets like we take for my snails and they munch it right up. They need this throughout their life but especially when they are young and growing so fast. You can also use liquid calcium that is used in saltwater tanks and use it at half strength....I just choose to chunk in some snail jello, cookies, and calcium tabs cause I like to watch them eat them up.

Tony G.

hmm... i have some pastic fabric mesh thing... i could put it on the sides of the tank where it is open... would that work?

whisper

No he won't crawl out. Mystery snails are strickly water snail. Only the female leaves to lay her eggs then returns to the water.

SWilkins

That sounds like what I use Tony and it should work fine....I have mine taped on. Occasionally they will get it loose and get out anyway but for the most part they are "trapped" LOL for their own safety of course.

iloveengl

Could you silicon the edges of the mesh so that it doesn't come loose?

Mine have never escaped...don't ever go above water line, but I'm worried about that now.

aquarist48

I believe that one of our members "Life" has had a few snails to escape as well. I seem to remember him posting photos of his snails escape. Life where are you?

I don't know why some of you folks have such unruly, misbehaving fish and critters. LOL You know where the blame goes first....to the parents!
Just teasing you! Maybe I should open a school with my "sweet, loving" Bloody Parrots as the teachers!
Ken

iloveengl

MY snails are always well behaved.

Lifesabeach

Hi All. Ken directed me to this thread - totally missed it's nature. My female has been regularly laying eggs within 2 weeks apart. On 3 of 4 occasions, she has become lost after climbing up the intake pipe of the canister filter and laying eggs near the top of the bend. I've found her on the glass lid in the opposite corner twice, and once resting against the back of the service door above the tank.
I know she had been out for sometime, because when I put her back in the tank, she was floating for a long time before she took in enough water (I assumed) and then sinking. She's tough - I though I lost her on two occasions. Did not move for ages.
I didn't take any pics of her out of the water, but I'll try to find the one showing where she laid her eggs!

Lifesabeach

Here's the link in relation to my experience with my female:
Now that's a Mystery!

aquarist48

Thanks Life! That's exactly what I was hoping for. That clutch of eggs look so much larger than the ones I have currently.
Ken

whisper

Nothing to worry about. Mystery snails DO NOT go above the water line. I have them in my outdoor pond all summer and have never had one come out of the water. ONLY the females do but they go right back into the water after laying there eggs.

Tony G.

...
what kind of snails do you have life? i am sure that the general "mystery snail" hs many categories... the snail i am looking into is yellow, gold ish i guess. It is pretty big too! they have some that are a little smaller than a fist... yup... that big!
i will go right now and check to see if the net thing will work...

Lifesabeach

You're right, as long as the female doesn't get lost, as in my case. I will have to seal around the pipes with something that she can't push against, which is awkward. She will mostly lay her eggs on the underside of lids, or the brace as she has just done overnight, then returns to the water, but unless she returns the same way down the inlet pipe, she's effectively stranded, with only the glass separating her from safety.

Tony G.

sooo... would that type of snai venture out?

Lifesabeach

Mine are the golden variety, and they grow so fast. I posted my latest pic of the male in one of Ken's threads:
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aq...nail-eggs.html

Tony G.

yup! those are it!!!!
is there any visual way i can sex it without having to flip it over to see the underside?

Lifesabeach

Apart from the snails in my pond, and the infestation of tiny snails in my 60l tank, I've only had any 'hands on' experience with the Mystery. The female won't venture out with the intention of escaping - just bad luck in my case. If the cutout in the lid is sealed somehow, I wouldn't have a problem.
Having said that, I'd better start experimenting with a permanent solution before I go away at Xmas for seven days otherwise I will return to one dead snail!

Lifesabeach

I just asked the experienced LFS owner I wanted a pair, and he sorted them out of the tank without hesitation. I have no idea just by looking at them in their normal behavior.

Lifesabeach

They breed everything big down under - bit like Texas? Must be the 'growth food' LoL. She really does produce a lot. I wonder how she manages to carry so many for her size.

Tony G.

haha i will start googing how to visually tell them apart...

whisper

Ones shell opening is flared out more then the other and one comes straight down but I can't remember which is the male and which is the female. But if you have one of each then you know you have a pair. Also if they are from the same batch the growth of the female will be bigger then the male.

Tony G.

thanks! i just google them, the male is smaller than the female and has the difference at the bottom of the shell