How to ensure baby mystery snails grow up healthy

HI y'all,
My mystery snails clutch hatched recently and I was wondering what you guys would recommend feeding them to ensure their shells grow well. Ive seen that vacation feeders can be used for calcium since they have calcium sulfate in them. I've seen people recommend cuttle bone too. I'm wondering if either of these are safe for fish? I have them in my guppy tank and don't want any guppies to die.

 

Cuttlebone is fish safe! Also dark green veggies.. zucchini, broccoli, kale, chard, spinach... you can also make your own snello (which has gelatin in it) there are tons of recipes or make your own. I personally find, my mysterys go after the leafy greens and protein first. (I also use crushed coral as part of my substrate bc I have soft water)

 

Cuttlebone is fish safe! Also dark green veggies.. zucchini, broccoli, kale, chard, spinach... you can also make your own snello (which has gelatin in it) there are tons of recipes or make your own. I personally find, my mysterys go after the leafy greens and protein first. (I also use crushed coral as part of my substrate bc I have soft water)

Okay awesome. I've been supplementing the adults with cucumbers, with kale and spinach I would blanch it first right?

 

Okay awesome. I've been supplementing the adults with cucumbers, with kale and spinach I would blanch it first right?

You can.. or you can put it in raw (just weigh it down with something).
I do blanch it first because it sinks easier but raw will you allow you to keep in longer without getting all mushy. I leave it in for about 24 hours and replace with a new veggie everyday.

I also feed mine pellets (of all kinds), tubifex worms and repashy. They aren't very picky.

 

Not sure, but I know that Goldie&Yami will help

 

So ALL Mystery Snails from birth to death NEED carnivorous foods. It's a huge misunderstanding that they can survive on veggies and algae pellets alone. Don't get me wrong they like algae pellets and love raw veggies but they can't thrive on those alone. They are literally bottom feeders which in the wild means they will eat ANYTHING fallen to the bottom of the water. In the wild this is mostly dead fish or other invertebrates. So feed your snails carnivorous foods they will thank you for it by growing up with pretty healthy shells and live close to the longest life possible for them. I feed mine shrimp pellets one day, skip a day,(you only do this once they are much older) the next day feed them a veggie or algae pellets, skip a day, and then the next a shrimp pellet again. JUST MAKE SURE ANYTHING YOU FEED THEM DOESN'T HAVE COPPER IN THE INGREDIENTS!! Copper is highly deadly to snails. I will attach a phote of my favorite foods to feed them as they have no copper and is packed with protein.
In the first week they are born you don't need to feed them because they will feed off the leftover remnants of their egg clutch. At that age it's hard for them to eat anything else and it's really good for them. It's comparable to babies and breast milk. I would recommend keeping them in a container floating in your main tank like you did when you incubated the clutch. If you can, try putting little holes(I mean little, like the very tip of a steak knife little. If you make them any bigger the babies could fall through or get stuck) in the bottom or sides of the container so oxygen can flow through the container. Just float the container in your tank in the safest way(i.e doesn't get attacked by a HOB filter as it floats by). I used suction cups to keep my container stationarily floating in one corner of my tank. I tried several breeder boxes before I did this make shift job but they all failed me. They all either had to big of holes that let the babies escape or weird gaps between the net mesh outside and the poles that held it together allowing the babies to get stuck and die there. But if you didn't do that, don't panic and try to pick them out it's not imperative it just makes their care while they are young easier. Simply because it's easier to keep an eye on them in the container vs a big tank and in the smaller container you can be sure that they aren't coming into contact with ANY at all left behind waste. Baby mystery snails are very sensitive to dirty water, off balance water parameters, and that in food copper I mentioned earlier. Now based on the size of the container and the amount of babies in it you will have to clean the container several times a day. Just check on them often and if you see a lot of waste use a small baby medicine syringe to "vacuum" the bottom of your container. It needs to be as small as you can find one because if you aren't careful while your snails are so little you could accidentally suck them into your syringe while "vacuuming". After their first week. I recommend feeding them carnivorous pellets. Just drop them in and let them stay in the water long enough for them to get super soft and soggy. That's the only way their tiny mouths will be able to eat them. Once the pellets become soft enough for the babies to eat I only recommend leaving them in the water for another 30 mins after that. If you leave extra food in too long it can really compromise the cleanliness of the small amount of water your snails are living in. So about 20 to 30 mins(max) after it gets soft "vacuum" up the left over. The babies will need to eat several times a day. At least twice if not 3 times.
You WILL get some that die on you there is no way around that. No matter how well you are taking care of them it's gonna happen. So you need to check the babies that seem lathargic or are not moving everyday. Gently pick them up to see if the trap door is closed in their shell. If they are dead it wouldn't be able to close and their body's would just fall out of their shell. If you are unsure about some because their bodies are still closed in their shell and they don't stink, but they still aren't moving put them alone in one corner of the container so when you check back later you can tell if it woke up and moved while you were away. It's very important you remove any dead babies as soon as possible because snails release a ton of ammonia after they die so the longer they stay in there dead the more they compromise the container water, the other babies, and even the water in your tank.
I hope this helps. Congrats on your new babies. Keep Snailing!

 

I like the first foods because it is a buffet of different foods that are good snails diet, shell health, growth, and even color wise. You get this bag off Amazon(that's where I buy them) their smallest bag is less than $5 and it will last you awhile.
The other pellets my fish and snail LOVE because it is a food with several different meats and protein as the main ingredients. It's best to get pellets with no copper and that has meats as the first ingredients on the list. Because that means there is more actual protein or meats than there is additives. I also forgot to mention depending on your pellet size you should only need 1 pellet per 30 babies. They eat several times a day but very little at a time. Give them a small amount first and then adjust accordingly after that. If there is a bunch of extra food after 30 mins then you know you need to cut back what you are giving them if there isn't any food left after 30 mins add another pellet next time. You keep doing this and it won't like to find a right balance. Then as soon as you think you got it figured out they will grow on you and you will have to start adding more food lol. Depending on your water temp baby mysterys can start growing pretty fast. So enjoy them while it lasts.

 

So ALL Mystery Snails from birth to death NEED carnivorous foods. It's a huge misunderstanding that they can survive on veggies and algae pellets alone. Don't get me wrong they like algae pellets and love raw veggies but they can't thrive on those alone. They are literally bottom feeders which in the wild means they will eat ANYTHING fallen to the bottom of the water. In the wild this is mostly dead fish or other invertebrates. So feed your snails carnivorous foods they will thank you for it by growing up with pretty healthy shells and live close to the longest life possible for them. I feed mine shrimp pellets one day, skip a day,(you only do this once they are much older) the next day feed them a veggie or algae pellets, skip a day, and then the next a shrimp pellet again. JUST MAKE SURE ANYTHING YOU FEED THEM DOESN'T HAVE COPPER IN THE INGREDIENTS!! Copper is highly deadly to snails. I will attach a phote of my favorite foods to feed them as they have no copper and is packed with protein.
In the first week they are born you don't need to feed them because they will feed off the leftover remnants of their egg clutch. At that age it's hard for them to eat anything else and it's really good for them. It's comparable to babies and breast milk. I would recommend keeping them in a container floating in your main tank like you did when you incubated the clutch. If you can, try putting little holes(I mean little, like the very tip of a steak knife little. If you make them any bigger the babies could fall through or get stuck) in the bottom or sides of the container so oxygen can flow through the container. Just float the container in your tank in the safest way(i.e doesn't get attacked by a HOB filter as it floats by). I used suction cups to keep my container stationarily floating in one corner of my tank. I tried several breeder boxes before I did this make shift job but they all failed me. They all either had to big of holes that let the babies escape or weird gaps between the net mesh outside and the poles that held it together allowing the babies to get stuck and die there. But if you didn't do that, don't panic and try to pick them out it's not imperative it just makes their care while they are young easier. Simply because it's easier to keep an eye on them in the container vs a big tank and in the smaller container you can be sure that they aren't coming into contact with ANY at all left behind waste. Baby mystery snails are very sensitive to dirty water, off balance water parameters, and that in food copper I mentioned earlier. Now based on the size of the container and the amount of babies in it you will have to clean the container several times a day. Just check on them often and if you see a lot of waste use a small baby medicine syringe to "vacuum" the bottom of your container. It needs to be as small as you can find one because if you aren't careful while your snails are so little you could accidentally suck them into your syringe while "vacuuming". After their first week. I recommend feeding them carnivorous pellets. Just drop them in and let them stay in the water long enough for them to get super soft and soggy. That's the only way their tiny mouths will be able to eat them. Once the pellets become soft enough for the babies to eat I only recommend leaving them in the water for another 30 mins after that. If you leave extra food in too long it can really compromise the cleanliness of the small amount of water your snails are living in. So about 20 to 30 mins(max) after it gets soft "vacuum" up the left over. The babies will need to eat several times a day. At least twice if not 3 times.
You WILL get some that die on you there is no way around that. No matter how well you are taking care of them it's gonna happen. So you need to check the babies that seem lathargic or are not moving everyday. Gently pick them up to see if the trap door is closed in their shell. If they are dead it wouldn't be able to close and their body's would just fall out of their shell. If you are unsure about some because their bodies are still closed in their shell and they don't stink, but they still aren't moving put them alone in one corner of the container so when you check back later you can tell if it woke up and moved while you were away. It's very important you remove any dead babies as soon as possible because snails release a ton of ammonia after they die so the longer they stay in there dead the more they compromise the container water, the other babies, and even the water in your tank.
I hope this helps. Congrats on your new babies. Keep Snailing!

Thank you so much for the advice I allowed my clutch to hatch into my 10 gallon so they're currently just in the tank with guppies. Figured survival of the fittest since there's so many. I ordered some shrimp pellets for my other fish that will come in monday and have no copper along with algae pellets. I put some kale in with them tonight. They all seem to be growing and I'm pretty proud.

 

I always make sure to avoid copper in my foods as I have some ghost shrimp and my snails too. There's way too many to try to pick out for the container. I also didnt incubate them in a container, but allowed them to incubate in the tank. One clutch fell in and probably drowned so I'm pretty happy these guys made it.

 

Remember "Snails" are scavengers will eat almost anything. "Cuttlebone" is a must IMHO.
Mine always devoured "Brussel Sprouts". Algae wafers also.

Good Luck with your brood. Careful I ended up with so many I was giving them away.

 

Remember "Snails" are scavengers will eat almost anything. "Cuttlebone" is a must IMHO.
Mine always devoured "Brussel Sprouts". Algae wafers also.

Good Luck with your brood. Careful I ended up with so many I was giving them away.

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Thank you so much, I didnt know cuttlebone was so important. I'll add some asap

 

Cuttlebone (itself) isn't super important it's more the calcium aspect of it all. You can that in many different ways: Buy foods rich in it, provide raw veggies high in calcium or even supplement their water. I 2 things I supplement and feed foods high in it. The first food I posted that came from Amazon is high in calcium and I also add this powder that is good for lizards or any reptiles because it is an all rich calcium powder. If you go container once they are old enough to be transferred to the main tank I just allowed the container to sink to the bottom until all the snails moved out on their own. Much like children lol.
But allowing your snails to grow out in your main tank is a great idea if you don't want a ton of them to grow up to full age. I wanted mine in the container to allow as many as them to survive simply because I love them so much. Lol. Congrats tho you are doing great with your Shell Babies!! ❤️

 

I just have to say that those purple mysteries are STUNNING. Are you selling or giving them away?

 

Thanks, the purples along with golds we in high demand, that was a pic from awhile ago. No more for me. I've got Ramshorn and pest snails at the moment. Might pickup some Nerites at an upcoming auction.

 

Thanks, the purples along with golds we in high demand, that was a pic from awhile ago. No more for me. I've got Ramshorn and pest snails at the moment. Might pickup some Nerites at an upcoming auction.

I'd be a little careful. Assassin snails like to any kind of snails. I wouldn't want you to lose your poor little nerite babies.