Golden Apple Snail Eggs

[Sword]

Surprise surpise! Appearently my Petsmart Golden Apple Snail is female and laid an egg clutch last night! She was in a aquarium with a bunch of other snails at the petstore, but has been the only big snail in my aquarium for over a month. Is there any chance the eggs might be fertile? Does anyone have any experience with this? I'll post pics of the clutch later, here's a pic of her.

 

[Imp]

Here's a bit of info.

Reproduction

Mating snails.

There are a few things to be considered to successfully breed apple snails:
- Since apple snails are gonochoristic (separated sexes), a male and a female snail are needed(obvious).
- Apple snails reproduce when the temperature rises in combination with abundance of food available.
- For those species that lay their eggs above the water, one should provide enough air space (+15cm/6 inch).
- Some species might need an aestivation period in the mud before they breed successfully (does not apply to the most common species).

It is also important to mention that female apple snails can store sperm for months, so even the eggs of a single snail can be fertile. With no male snail present, female apple snails occasionally produce infertile eggs. Obviously, these do no hatch. Last but not least: most species lay their eggs above the water and they should stay there while the eggs of aquatic layers should stay below the surface.
At the right circumstances an apple snail can produce one clutch of eggs every 4-7 days during several weeks. After this period, productivity decreases and the female snail regains strength. The species, temperature and availability of food are the main factors in the egg production.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

This is a great site that contains information on breeding, in the care section.

http://www.applesnail.net/

You're so lucky! I wish mine would breed!

 

[wegotchickens]

Whether they're fertile or not, at least you know she's happy in your tank!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I would be giddy.


How exciting for you

I hope they hatch.



Little baby apples

 

[Omniskies]

They are probably fertile, but may not hatch out. Briggs eggs (they aren't Apples - Apples get to be the size of an apple and are illegal in the US

will usually hatch out in around 8-11 days depending on the temperature and humidity. Too much or too little water, or too much light, can drop your hatch rate to zero. I tend to keep mine in a small plastic container (like the ones for sour cream, butter, etc) with holes punched in the bottom and set that on top of the filter where the humidity is fairly high, but the actual splashing water is at a minimum.

When you check on them at a week along they should look dark colored and moldy. That's the about-to-hatch phase. Once they start hatching I'll break open the egg case and gently swish the babies around in a baby cage inside my main tank (the sort that is used for livebearers). This helps the babies find their food faster, and gives them a shorter trek up to the top where they have to breathe air.

Good luck with your babies. Briggs are _really_ great to raise for your birds as a snack and for added calcium (only the babies - don't feed anyone the eggs since the eggs are poisonous). I have a few hundred in my baby cage right now that I am slowly growing out. Over the summer they will be tossed in a stock tank outside to munch on algae, grow, and reproduce. I'll keep the colors I like the best over the winter and the rest will be sold or will become someone's dinner.

 

[Akane]

I slide the egg clutches off the glass or plastic of the aquarium with a credit card or other thin object and put them on plastic mesh from the craft store over a gap in the tank lid with a bubble wand or stone under it. Nearly all of them hatch that way.

and then your tank looks like this

 

[oldhen2345]

Here's a bit of info.

Reproduction

It is also important to mention that female apple snails can store sperm for months, so even the eggs of a single snail can be fertile. With no male snail present, female apple snails occasionally produce infertile eggs.
At the right circumstances an apple snail can produce one clutch of eggs every 4-7 days during several weeks. The species, temperature and availability of food are the main factors in the egg production.

I have Mystery snails in my aquarium and just saw an egg clutch on the lid. If they hatch, can I feed these to the chickens? At what age can I not feed them to chickens? Can they give my chickens gapeworm? Also, I have a bunch of Red wag platys that are a bout a month old. Can you feed those to chickens without issue? Just trying to figure out the best disposition for these and future newcomers.