How do you breed your golden mystery snails?

Answer 1

Many species of snails are labelled 'mystery snails'. I am going to assume you have the pomacea bridgesii (fairly common in gold color, but many species have golds). These are not asexual, they need a male and a female. www.applesnail.net can show you how to sex them (it is difficult even for some experienced hobbyists). The true Mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line, which means you must have the water a couple inches below the top of the aquarium (ensure that they can't crawl out of your tank). If you catch your pair mating and no eggs appear soon, don't worry, the female snail can hold sperm for several months. The female will usually lay eggs in the night, it will resemble a wad of chewed gum about the size of your finger, containing several hundred eggs (50-300). The eggs need to stay in humid environment, but cannot have condensation on them or be submerged, as they will drown. If the humidity is ok , with no eggs drying out(white and crumbling, not the white they become before hatching) or getting condensation. Just leave the eggs where laid if possible, and in 2-4 weeks (temp + humidity effect it, warmer is quicker) you will have about 50-100+ little snails in your tank. When they hatch (chew their way out) they fall into the water. They will be very small and often disappear in the gravel for the first few weeks. They eat the same food as the parents (no special foods needed) and can stay in the same tank as the parents (though some fish may consider the small snails tasty). if you decide to move them to a different tank, make sure there is food available (an established tank with algae), they are small and cannot travel huge distances for their meals. The small snails can get caught in filters and a sponge filter can help (I just use panty hose over the head and it works beautifully). In 2-3 months the babies are big enough to breed on their own. Please be aware that snails produce a fair bit of waste (roughly 1 adult snail per gallon) and the water must be clean or you could lose them. Weekly water changes are necessary (treat water in case copper is present as it will kill the snails). They can be kept, given to friends, traded into pet stores for more fish/snails/supplies, or many fish chat sites often send them to those who are less fortunate. Please do not release the snails into the wild. Hope you have luck and success!