Aquatic baby snail care

[lynnellen]

I have just hatched out a clutch of black Mystery babies. I have about 100+ in a little 2 gallon tank by themselves. No fish or anyone to eat them. I removed the egg sac before hatching and played midwife last wednesday.

I have about an inch of water in the tank, and have put crushed up algae wafers and fish flakes in the bottom.

The babies seem to be hanging at the top of the waterline and not going down to eat. Or they float in little groups on the water, only to go back to hang on the side. I am worried that they are not eating. Do I have too much water in the tank? Am I not feeding the right stuff? I really really would like to get a nice amount of snails from this clutch. Help. Am I doing things right by them or not?

Renamed - CroSSLeSS

[Dusk]

Hi - just to be clear, are they apple snails? And if so, what kind?

If they're hanging out near the top of the water it could be that there's not enough oxygen in the water so they don't want to stray far from the air.

The food sounds reasonable, but you can try weighting a chunk of cucumber or courgette and see if they like that better.

I've hatched out an awful lot of apple snails of various kinds but always in the same tanks as their parents, so I'm not sure how a nursery sheould be set up. What temperature is the water? They don't move much if they're too cold.

[lynnellen]

Thanks for the quick response.

As far as I know they are Black mystery. That's what the pet store called the parents. who by the way are in my big 60 gallon tank with my super large Oranda goldfish... who would have made short work of the babies, so that's why I moved the sac at 3 weeks when the sac started turning dark.

The water in the little baby tank is room temp as is my other tank because goldfish do not require heat. I do not have additional heating. In the babies' tank I have only about an inch of water. And it stinks now like a pond. I cannot chage the water as I fear losing some babies. The little tank has an aquarium lid with a light but I don't leave the light on much as I was afraid of getting the water TOO warm. Should I add a tiny heater.. Increase the water level.. add an airstone? help! They're adorable

[lynnellen]

I believe the Mystery snail here is considered an apple snail as I see most info on them combined with the apple. They are a round black/brown shelled snail with a jet black body and foot. the adults are about the size of a hmmm... ping pong ball?

[Dusk]

I think one problem with your baby tank is that there's not enough water and too much food uneaten and rotting. What sort of filter do you have running in there?

I'd remove as much of the smelly water and rotting food as you can - you can try siphoning it out with a piece of airline or scoop it out with a large spoon if you're concerned about the babies getting caught up in it. Then add a lot more water, and use a water conditioner if you can. Fill the tank to capacity - it's pretty small but it'll give the babies more room and the water won't foul so quickly. If you have no heater, then by all means put the light on and see if it warms it a little. 'Room temperature' varies a lot depending on where you are, but I wouldn't want any kind of apple snail babies under 20 degrees C.

'Mystery snails' is used for all sorts of snails, so it's not that useful a term. How large are the parents?

ETA - from the size and the fact that they bred in unheated water, it sounds like they could be something in the pomacea canaliculata complex. They're slightly more tolerant of cold water than other kinds in my experience, but I'd still want the babies warmer than the parents.

[lynnellen]

currently no filter system as I am afraid of babies getting sucked up. But the little tank comes with a small filter system. I'll get it out and take a look. I will also add an airstone and keep the light on.

Thank you so much. I was afraid to fill up the little tank because it seemes like so much of a way for the babies to crawl down to food. I couldn't find anything on line about water levels.

In addition.. being in the States, I am woefully unaware of the Celcius system. The temp in here averages about 70 degress farenheit. I need to get a conversion lol!! Thank you sooo much

[Dusk]

As you describe the situation, you're effectively keeping the babies in a cold, polluted puddle. Your first priority is to improve the water conditions. You can use an air-driven filter without harming the babies, either a box filter or a sponge filter will do. You will lose a lot of them without improving the water. Without a filter, you want to be doing daily small water changes. You also must remove uneaten food before it starts to rot/smell. If there's food left over, you're feeding them too much.

Useful conversion tool here::
animal-world.com/encyclo/information/calculate.htm
It says 20c is 68f, but I'd view that as the absolute minimum, ideally you want it warmer than that, and the smaller the tank, the more the temperature will fluctuate.

I've had babies hatch and survive in my 90 (US) gallon tank - they are surprisingly willing to explore the full extent of their territory without coming to harm

Out of curiousity, how big is your oranda? I have a fondness for goldfish

[lynnellen]

Ok.... I have removed most of the water and rotting food. VERY CAREFULLY.... The few babies that I inadvertantly sucked up were put back.. again VERY CAREFULLY. Then I refilled the entire tank with treated water. I use StessCoat, which declorinates and is what I use for my goldfish. I've added an airstone to the water. I'm going to the pet shop to look for a heater. I just am afraid of "cooking" the poor things.

My Oranda are large.. I have 3 in a 60 US gallon tank. they are each about 9 inches. I also have a Black Moor in with them. He is about 5 inches.

As you can tell, I am a severe PET junkie.. and always always want to do what's right by any living thing in my care. I just never knew what to do about raising baby snails.. thanks soooo much.

[Dusk]

Sounds like your baby snails will be very happy It is hard to avoid sucking them up when they're wee - do you know what scoubeedous are? (They might have other names - that was what we called 'em when I was tiny) - sort of plastic strings which you tie in decorative knots? They are actually hollow, like miniature airline, and if you're not in a rush, they are ideal for siphoning water out but not getting any baby snails or fish caught up. You can probably buy them in kids' craft shops. (If you can't, want me to send you some? They come in large packs and you only need one or two.)

Stresscoat is a good idea - help keep their slime up to scratch The highest I've had apple snails breed is 27/28C (83f?) - a bit warm but super fast growth and they acclimatised down to lower temperatures without difficulties. You want a small heater - if you can find a 15watt one, that'll be ideal, but if not 25w will do, as long as you keep an eye on the temperature and set it a degree or two below your goal temperature.

I would love to see pictures of your fish - there's a section of the forum called 'other pets' where you can post non-snail pics to be ooh-ed over. My biggest goldfish is only 5" plus tail - a calico fantail called Nobby Nobbs on account of his markings giving him the impression of severe acne or skin conditions

[lynnellen]

I just wanted to let you know that I've followed your advise and bought a mini-heater that has raised the temp in the baby tank to 75 degrees F. I put in a little filter that suctions to the side of the tank and bubbles out the top. I still intend to do frequent water changes.

I have purchased two veggie clips and have a fresh spinich leaf and a cucumber slice in them. They have found the spinich but so far have not gone near the cucumber, but it's dark now so I expect them to be exploring more. All the babies seem to be fine, even the ones I though were dead.. they are all moving around.

I really want to thank you for taking the time to give me these pointers. I believe I will be able to raise some fine healthy snails.

PS.... Will post pics of the goldfish when I find my digital camera. My son borrowed it to use to take pics of what he is selling on ebay.

[Dusk]

I'm glad I was able to help Wee baby snails are wonderful to have, especially when they are so absolutely miniscule as these. They will grow so fast!

[lynnellen]

Here's the pic of one of my Orandas. Not as big as I guestimated, but still a very fine Goldfish.

[Dusk]

That is one fine wen he has there Do they have names?

[lynnellen]

Thank you... He does have a great wen doesn't he... His name is Sushi. My Red Cap Oranda is Wonton. My Calico is Kimono. The Black Moor is just called Bugs because of his Bug Eyes.. lol!!!

My Snails don't really have names as I'm not sure who is who.. However, I'm planning on naming all 100+ babies.. Wanna help me?? lol!!!

[Dusk]

Those are fabulous names Mine are whichever Discworld character they resemble - Lady Ramkin is a redcap oranda, Sgt. Colon is a pearlscale, Detritus a blue oranda, etc.

I think possibly the only way you could name all the babies is by getting a baby name book and using all of the names! Or, given the fish names, perhaps after ingredients in a Japanese cookbook.

[coyote]

Mar 23, 2009 10:17:10 GMT lynnellen said:

My Red Cap Oranda is Wonton.

My cat's name is Won-Ton.

[lynnellen]

My cat is Floyd. The dog is Homer. I also have two birds...Larry and Peabody