# Breeding and Shipping Mystery Snail Eggs



## Safado (Aug 4, 2005)

I have five mystery snails in a 55 g. I have seen one male mating with two different females, and don't know what gender the other two are. 

I have tried searching this and other boards, but can't seem to find more than "they lay their eggs above the water line..." I may be searching poorly, so if any of you have a link to a thread or site, that would be great!

Has anyone had these breed? Do you know how long their "gestation" is before they lay eggs? I have also been asked if I can ship one of the clutches, if I ever find one. Have any of you done this, or have tips for me? I have heard, lowering the water level helps them to lay their eggs, how much room do they need above the water line?

Thanks for all of your help!!!


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

http://www.applesnail.net/


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## Safado (Aug 4, 2005)

That is a great site Nate.

I have read it before, but thought the level above the waterline may be less than the six inches recomended for apple snails, as these snails are much smaller.

I couldn't see on the site or elsewhere that there is a gestation period, so it sounds like mine haven't laid eggs because their conditions are not optimal. I am lowering the waterline to three inches to see if that helps. my current temp is 76, so I would rather not raise the temp, as was recommended to induce egg laying. I don't want to lower the waterline to 6 inches so if this doesn't work, I will not worry about sending out the clutches. 

The questions I still have are:

Has anyone had these breed in thier tanks, and if so, could you share the perameters of the tank if you remember them?

Has anyone had success in shipping the egg clutches?


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Although this is a shot in the dark, I wonder if you could ship them in damp peat or something of the sort like Killifish keepers do? You might want to check with some killifish people to see if maybe some of their methods might apply. Keep us updated!


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

They ship egg clutches all the time. There are some really good posts in the forums there that have detailed how to instructions. Beware, there is a ton of chatter on that site, good info is hard to glean from the inccessant banter.


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## Safado (Aug 4, 2005)

I decided I didn't like the water level low, but I also realized I could temporarily add the snails to my sump, and leave the sump waterline six inches below the surface. I moved the verified females (now 3) into the sump. Hopefully this works. I'll keep you all posted.

I also found this great site with hatching information:

http://clutches.rainbowsnails.com/hatching.htm
And for breeding:
http://www.rainbowsnails.com/view_doc.php?view_doc=16

She is also setting up a blog with more information.


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