I purchased 4 Gold Mystery Snails some months ago as I heard that they help keep your aquarium clean, well that theory is still up in the air what I have noticed in my aquarium is alot of eggs and so far not one of the eggs have hatched the snails place them up only to have them fall in the water and decay.
Typically the snails will lay the eggs above the waterline in your tank so that no other prey can get to them and the eggs hatch between 10-14 days what is a mystery to me is that these snails also climb out of the tank if there is a small opening and deposit the eggs on the filter, and of course they can't find their way back into the tank so then comes the time to play where is my snail.
I have lost 2 snails this way as they have climbed out and deposited their eggs onto the filter and expired after not finding their way back into the tank, I'm sure snails have a purpose I'm just not sure as to what it is at this moment, my Pleco keeps the tank cleaner then the snails do and he doesn't tend to wander. All in All I am fairly no extremely disappointed in my purchase of these snails as I've had to clean my tank more because of decaying eggs also had to search for expired snails, not to mention scrape off the eggs that I found in the morning attached to the filter.
There might be some Aquarium Enthusiast that have had better luck then I have had with them but I find the Mystery Snails to be more work and headaches then a help to the aquarium. I think I will stick with the Pleco as far as keeping my aquarium algae free and I am now in the process of trying to find homes for the remaining two snails.
For those that have not purchased any mystery snails I would strongly suggest that you do some research before purchasing the mystery snail because sometimes the mystery can become a misery.
Information on Mystery Snails can be found at : http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=38661
Typically the snails will lay the eggs above the waterline in your tank so that no other prey can get to them and the eggs hatch between 10-14 days what is a mystery to me is that these snails also climb out of the tank if there is a small opening and deposit the eggs on the filter, and of course they can't find their way back into the tank so then comes the time to play where is my snail.
I have lost 2 snails this way as they have climbed out and deposited their eggs onto the filter and expired after not finding their way back into the tank, I'm sure snails have a purpose I'm just not sure as to what it is at this moment, my Pleco keeps the tank cleaner then the snails do and he doesn't tend to wander. All in All I am fairly no extremely disappointed in my purchase of these snails as I've had to clean my tank more because of decaying eggs also had to search for expired snails, not to mention scrape off the eggs that I found in the morning attached to the filter.
There might be some Aquarium Enthusiast that have had better luck then I have had with them but I find the Mystery Snails to be more work and headaches then a help to the aquarium. I think I will stick with the Pleco as far as keeping my aquarium algae free and I am now in the process of trying to find homes for the remaining two snails.
For those that have not purchased any mystery snails I would strongly suggest that you do some research before purchasing the mystery snail because sometimes the mystery can become a misery.
Information on Mystery Snails can be found at : http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=38661
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I have had many of these Snails. Mine never climbed out that I know of. I had a Dwarf Frog jump out! haha He was ok, I found him.
I guess these Snails purpose was never to be in an aquarium, though mine did keep algae down and I had Plecostomus too. We probably don't see them at their best, in their natural habitat, but I loved my Snails! They did lay a lot of eggs!
This is an old post so I dont know if you will even read this but mystery snails (Apple Snails) lay out of water and if the sac falls into the water the babies all drown and therefore you get a mess. If your snails are laying in a place you dont like or on glass where they have a tendency to fall you can simply peel the eggs offf of the surface and move it to a container with a bit of water and a sponge to set them on so they have humidity and don't dry out but don't drown. You should have them hatch in 10 or more days depending on the temperature. If you don't want the clutch there is a market for them and you can sell them, just check your local laws especially if you are sending across state lines as some states don't allow them to enter. They recommend that if you have apple snails that you keep 3-4 inches of space between the water and the top of the tank to prevent escapes as they need somewhere dry to lay. If you really have escape artists then use some clear packing tape to cover all holes in your tank, check the roof daily for clutches and remove them. One way to kill excess snails is by pouring vinegar on them, they die instantly. When I have had to cull them I took out all the ones that I couldn't keep and placed them in a glass, then when i was done I poured vinegar on them. The water turned red with blood but it was instant and I didnt endanger my other wet pets by using the snail killers directly in the tank. Apple Snails/Mystery Snails are pretty useless when it comes to algae, they are excellent with cleaning up extra food though, if you want a snail to clean up algae and detritus from the substrate you may want to look into Malaysian trumpet snails, they are amazing cleaners, dont eat the plants and help aerate the substrate which prevents toxic gasses from building up. They can be prolific breeders if you overfeed your tank, I have had 3 for over a year now and have no seen new ones but I don't overfeed my tanks. Hope this helps!
It's not the easiest thing to do but if you get a male snail, it won't try to crawl out. The females do so when trying to find a spawning place. There are some good images on line that show the gender differences and a little patience is all that's needed.
If you already have a female, then the best tip is to keep the tank snugly covered, with no spaces large enough for the snail's shell to fit through. Eggs will often be laid on the underside of a tank's cover and can easily be scraped off when they appear. They can then be hatched elsewhere or crushed for disposal.
These snails are big eaters. While they may help clean up leftover food, they also poop a lot, so in the end, there is still going to be some mess to siphon out.
Snails 'clean up' best in terms of keeping the glass clear and they're quite good for that. They'll also keep some forms of algae from taking over plant leaves and other places, but not all algae is on their list of favoured foods. I enjoy keeping them simply to observe their behaviour but also because they do keep the glass clear.
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