|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 22, 2020 10:52:32 GMT
Hi all! New to the forum world, and semi new to the wonders of the mystery snail. Please bear with me as I'm a chatter, even in text, but I promise there is a question here towards the end lol My toddler decided her betta was too lonely, so after a bit of research I decided the mystery snail would be the best (easiest to care for & affordable) tank mate. Pumpkin, a big fat orange gentleman was with us for a little over a year before he died of old age, and I loved him- super chill and friendly, loved to eat & clean up after his betta brother, and all around simple to care for. Sully, the blue who replaced him, has been the exact opposite lol Frequently turns her nose up at food offerings, constantly escapes (her name should be Houdini as I still can't figure how she gets out), always steals the betta's favorite sleeping spot, and then she started laying clutches. Now, I had done basic research, but didn't dig deep enough to get to the part that informed about their ability to carry sperm with them for some time, and I blindly assumed I wouldn't have to worry about babies since she was single. Oops. Because I wasn't looking, I missed the clutch that she managed țo squeeze up into the corner of the lid behind the lights until it was near hatching. I removed it from the tank as I didn't want to deal with fishing babies out, but decided out of sheer curiosity to let it hatch (after calling my local aquatic house to be sure they'd take the babies in). Sully is young and I assume that was her first clutch, it was quite small and looked to only have a handful of viable eggs so I knew we wouldn't be too overwhelmed. After giving them what I thought was an appropriate amount of time to vacate the clutch, to make sure all live ones were out, I counted a total of 8 tiny specks on the bottom of the 'hatchery'. Now, finally to the point of my thread... 2 or 3 died and/or were consumed by siblings, one I accidently crushed while doing a clean and one is growing in to a perfectly normal looking mystery snail. My question is about the remaining specks, which have also grown but do not resemble snails at all, at least not any from my limited knowledge bank. I really don't even think I can adequately describe them... they seem somewhat flat, oval-ish; they look a bit gelatinous but are hard to the touch (felt them when cleaning tank) and
kind of see through? I've been trying to get good pictures but they're still so small the camera is having trouble focusing. If anyone can give me a little insight I'd love to hear your thoughts. Are they actually snails or do I have weird parasites? Or aliens? 👽😁
|
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 22, 2020 10:53:05 GMT
Hmmm, is there a way to add pictures?
|
|
|
|
Post by morningcoffee on Aug 22, 2020 13:11:21 GMT
Hmmm, is there a way to add pictures? You can upload photos to a free hosting site like Imgur or ImgBB and then paste the links here or use the "insert image" button. |
|
|
|
Post by littlegoldsnail on Aug 22, 2020 15:52:02 GMT
Sound like newborn snails to me. I would recommend boiling some cucumber and/or zucchini so it’s very soft and feeding that to them. Mystery snails don’t really eat algae, so they need to be fed on a regular basis, and babies especially need lots of nutrition to grow and should have food available as much as possible. You could also used boiled sweet potato or squash. They need to be boiled a lot though, because babies soft mouths can’t handle very much. I would wait a couple weeks before offering them tougher food or algae wafers of anything.
|
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 22, 2020 17:30:12 GMT
Hmmm, is there a way to add pictures? You can upload photos to a free hosting site like Imgur or ImgBB and then paste the links here or use the "insert image" button. I don't see an insert button anywhere 🤔 |
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 22, 2020 17:38:37 GMT
Sound like newborn snails to me. I would recommend boiling some cucumber and/or zucchini so it’s very soft and feeding that to them. Mystery snails don’t really eat algae, so they need to be fed on a regular basis, and babies especially need lots of nutrition to grow and should have food available as much as possible. You could also used boiled sweet potato or squash. They need to be boiled a lot though, because babies soft mouths can’t handle very much. I would wait a couple weeks before offering them tougher food or algae wafers of anything. Thanks for the food tips! My curiosity stems from the fact that they look absolutely nothing like the other baby mysteries. Like, not at all. Someone on another forum suggested they look like limpets, though if that's the case there is still the mystery of how they got here. Sully laid her clutch well over a month after we brought her home, it was removed from the tank lid and moved in to a thoroughly cleaned 1 gal that has only ever been used to house the betta during tank deep cleans. |
|
|
|
Post by morningcoffee on Aug 22, 2020 18:13:47 GMT
I don't see an insert button anywhere 🤔 I don't think it's visible if you are on the mobile site. If you just upload the pics to an image hosting site and paste the links here, I will fix it so the pictures appear. |
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 22, 2020 19:19:44 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by wolf on Aug 22, 2020 20:52:55 GMT
Hi "manywildthings",
one of the species should be a Ferrissia spec. (Planorbidae; F. californica?). Compare with pictures in the inetrnet.
I need better pictures to determine the other species (does it have an operculum?).
Kind regards: wolf
|
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 23, 2020 1:18:43 GMT
Hi King, thanks for your input! The little spotted guy is definitely a mystery snail. We have only ever had a mystery, and I watched baby crawl out of her clutch; so unless snails crossbreed I'm pretty confidant of that one. Lol
Thanks everyone! Popular opinion seems to be that the others are indeed limpets. I am still mystified as to where they came from. I don't have live plants they could've come in on. We did recently add in a chunk of decorative driftwood purchased from the pet store. I don't know what treatment they give it before it hits the shelf, but I boiled it to reduce tannins for more than 24 hrs; wouldn't think they'd survive that. I've also seen no evidence of them in our main tank. My tiny human and her betta are super attached, she plays and reads at his table whenever she can and he is right there at the wall following her every move. I look every inch of that tank over several times a day and have never seen so much as a spec on the glass. Their only appearance has been in the hatchery after I moved the clutch there. So the mystery lives on 😁
|
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 23, 2020 1:22:57 GMT
Sorry, I meant to say hi and thanks to wolf, not king! Reading my daughter a story about a king while posting here; apparently my mom brain isn't so great at the multitasking this evening lol |
|
|
|
Post by littlegoldsnail on Aug 23, 2020 20:40:04 GMT
A couple of those images are definitely baby mysteries, but the other ones are to blurry to tell.
Cute little buggers! I love baby mystery snails. I would definitely recommend really mushy, boiled cucumber if you have it. He looks to small to eat much else.
|
|
|
|
Post by manywildthings on Aug 26, 2020 2:46:25 GMT
A couple of those images are definitely baby mysteries, but the other ones are to blurry to tell. Cute little buggers! I love baby mystery snails. I would definitely recommend really mushy, boiled cucumber if you have it. He looks to small to eat much else. Well, he (and the 20 new babies that hatched 2 days ago from another clutch) seem to be taking after their mum; none of them will eat any of the veggies I've offered. Blanched, steamed, mushy...nada. They are however making good work of the betta vacation feeders I put in for them (the limpets too it would seem), and are growing daily, so I'm not too concerned. When they get a little bigger I'll add in some of the algae discs and pellets for them; that's the only thing their mum will eat so hopefully they'll like it as well. |
|
|
|
Post by littlegoldsnail on Aug 26, 2020 14:33:55 GMT
They might just need some protein after hatching. Maybe soaked shrimp pellets might help?
Good luck! Raising babies can be fun.
|
|
