Mystery Snail Nookie?

S

SAE

Small Fish
#6
Apr 14, 2007
36
0
0
Ottawa, Canada
#6
I'm no pro at this, but it didn't look like breeding to me.
You have very pretty brigs, and their shells look great. When I looked into the colour combinations that an ivory and purple could make, you would get very pretty babies.
Applesnail.net has lots of info on breeding and suchlike if you're not already familiar with the site.
 

MemnochsKat

MemnochsKat

Large Fish
#8
Apr 3, 2007
323
0
0
Knoxville Area
#8
Thanks SAE! I've actually observed this behavior several times after I took those photos. I think they're playing! Who knew Mystery Snails needed company! At least once a day, I find them side by side in the tank or following each other around.
 

S

SAE

Small Fish
#9
Apr 14, 2007
36
0
0
Ottawa, Canada
#9
I think they're wonderful, and often terribly underated. They've been the hit of my tank for some time now.
What you posted really is quite close to mating, so if you are often seeing this behavior, they may well be mating. If they're mating you can see their penis sheath entering the other snail's shell. It sort of looks like their air tube, just on the other side.
In my experience, males will attempt to mate with either gender, so mating doesn't necessarily mean you have a male and female.
They lay their eggs above the waterline, and as I mentioned, applesnail.net has some great info on breeding and care in general.
 

MemnochsKat

MemnochsKat

Large Fish
#10
Apr 3, 2007
323
0
0
Knoxville Area
#10
I'll keep an eye out for the "air tube"! I don't have any plants above water level that they could lay on. Do you think they would lay on the hood? or perhaps crawl up on the filter? Hope they don't crawl out of the tank! LOL I do have a small hole on the back of the hood.

If they are mating, I'm fairly certain that at least the purple is a male, he seems to be the instigator of such activities. I'm always impressed by something going on in my tank.
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#11
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
0
Michigan
#11
It looks like they probably did the nasty somewhere in there...

To breed mystery snails, you do need to lower the water level so they can lay their eggs above water. They usually lay their egg "sacks" around the rim of the tank. They are pink in color. Purple snails shell looked a little rough...he may not have enough calcium, couldn't see the other shell.

I think snails are awesome! I have one mystery snail that has grown HUGE within the past 6 months. He's now larger than a golf ball and VERY cool looking. Very long "tenticles" if that's what you call them. He's the hit of the tank.
 

S

SAE

Small Fish
#13
Apr 14, 2007
36
0
0
Ottawa, Canada
#13
There are optimum ph levels and you an maintain their shell by feeding them high calcium foods with supplements in the tank to keep the calcium levels up. I see you have your snails and fish together, so you may have to try and find a happy medium for them.
Applesnail.net has a great discussion forum with an entire section dedicated to care of snails. It has some great stickies on high calcium foods, adding liquid calcium to tanks and other calcium sources. There's also super info there on optimum ph for snails.
A lot of folks don't know that snails need to be fed their own food, that they can't be expected to do okay on algae and whatever they can scavenge. In fact brigs (which is what you've got) can starve to death even in a planted tank. Don't forget to cook or freeze the high calcium veggies for the snails first to break them down to make it easier for the snails to eat.
 

casshan

casshan

Medium Fish
#16
Apr 20, 2007
52
0
0
39
Modesto, CA
#16
my Blk Mystery Snail always piggy backs the Blue one. im quite sure the blk one is male and the blue is female. if you look around you might find the egg deposits some above the water. Mine was on the hood lid! when i opened the hood i was surprised by it. looked like baby corn to me. & when i touched it it was hard& crispy.
 

M

meanjean

Medium Fish
#17
May 10, 2005
97
0
0
Kentucky
#17
Applesnail.net is a great web page, but it is rarely updated and some of the info is inaccurate. If your mysery snails do have an air syphon then they are apple snails and the breeding info should help you out.

Also, not all snails lay above the water. My apple snail lays in jelly-goo on a plant.
 

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