what to do when you have scary alien eggs in your tank :| Help

[jersey]

okay so...... I was doing a water change right now and I noticed something that looks extremely scary I almost died( I'm afraid of spiders so that was the first thing that came to mind). I did some research and apparently my mystery snail layed a million eggs. I didnt even know she was pregnant or that she was even a she. Although I just got her about a week ago. Anyway how long does it take for these eggs to hatch and how hard is it to catch all the babies after they are born..... can I transfer the eggs to a smaller tank or will that kill them not sure what to do I wasnt expecting this. Definitely making every one of my new residents in the future take a pregnancy test

 

[leeishom]

Just make sure you don't get too close to those eggs, or each one will open up, allowing a spider like alien grip on your face and lay eggs in your stomach!!!!

Jk.

Probably better not to touch them unless you are sure the eggs will grip on the surface of the new location. Don't want snail eggs floating all over.

Are you from London, on? A few of my students from china attend fanshawe and western university. Also my GF lives there.
I was there a couple of months ago, cold and snowy.

I've merged your posts.
Thanks!
Ken

 

[jersey]

haha yeah london ontario. its not cold and snowy now. its a really warm sunny day i just got back from the dog park.

the eggs scared me at first because i was like :| i dont think my fish lay eggs like that i didnt even think of my snail.

Hello,
I've merged your posts to save a little space on the forum. Don't forget there is an EDIT key at the bottom of every post that you can use for corrections and additional thoughts.
Thanks!
Ken

 

[leeishom]

haha yeah london ontario. its not cold and snowy now. its a really war sunny day i just got back from the dog park.

That park on... What was it?, adelighed? I think all of my ex-students live on kipps lane.

 

[Aquarist]

Hello.

Here is a link on Mystery Snails:


The snail eggs should be pinkish and in a cluster and attached to a surface an inch or two above the water line. If they are fertile then they will hatch in about 15 or 16 days. If they haven't hatched after 16 days I doubt that they will.

Snails also need a lot of calcium. I suggest adding a rinsed out egg shell into the tank or filter. You can place it in a mesh bag if you like. Once it dissolves you can add another. Also these snails love fresh zucchini also high in Calcium, cucumbers are good.

Personally if you don't want additional snails in your tank then I would remove them. Once they hatch they can be very difficult to find for a while.

Best of luck!

Ken

 

[jersey]

if the eggs dont need water until they hatch could i put them in a kritter keeper or something wait that wouldnt work they need humidity... snails may be slow but im not sure if i want to be chasing snail babies all over the place. ive also read that they like to get into the adults shell and irritate them.

 

[jersey]

yeah the adelaide dog park just north of kipps lane

 

[jersey]

ok ill pick up some zuchini and put an egg in there. snails lay eggs even if they are not fertilized?

 

[Aquarist]

If your female snail was housed with males before you bought her, then she can store sperm for months and produce viable eggs. Without a male and after several months she will stop producing.
Too, be sure to keep your pH above 7.0 or the snail shells may begin to wither away.
Ken

 

[btate617]

If you don't want all the snails in the tank or you are just going to try and remove them all once the eggs hatch, save yourself the trouble now and remove the eggs and dispose of them.
If you want them all to survive then leave them be.


Brian

 

[jersey]

okay thanks i will take them out. im going to ask if the petstore watns them first. my ph is 7.5 ish so i think were good. i have two tiny mystery snails in there too that i got for free with a plant. they were hitchikers. and then i also have my large one thats about the size of the golf ball whom im assuming was the egg layer.

 

[Aquarist]

The snails that were attached or hitch hikers on plants may be pond snails and not Mystery Snails. You may end up with many, many baby snails if you aren't careful Once the eggs are removed they need to be kept warm and humid. If not, they won't hatch. I don't know that it would be worth your effort to remove them and take them to the pet store. (very nice thought though)

Ken