Well I noticed one of my apple snails wasn't in the tank, so I looked up and it was poking around a clutch of eggs.
They feel rather dry and I am so unsure of what to do with them.
I'd like to keep them, can anyone give me advice on what to do now?
I just noticed the eggs last night.

I think apple snails purposely lay eggs on dry surfaces. That's their method of protecting their spawn from aquatic predators. You should just leave the eggs as they are since the larvae will go back to the water of their own accord... Don't worry too much, i think the snail knows more about their spawning behavior than people do.

Are you wanting to try to hatch these eggs? I can get something up for you, but it will take me alittle while to type it and right now I gotta go do a waterchange in my 29 gallon goldie tank.

I'd love for them to hatch.
I have an extra tank that I can put excess snails in.

How many snails do you usually get off of a clutch? How do you know if they were fertilized or not?

I am still working on a step-by-step, but here ya go for starters: If the clutch is in a nice, humid area (and they normally are if they are just above the water line, but below the hood) then you can leave it alone misting it occasionally with a spray bottle to keep it moist. With warm air and high humidity it will hatch in about a week. What color are the parent snails?

Im not sure which ones are the parents. Because I just found ANOTHER CLUTCH! THat makes 2 big ones and one tiny one.
I think one i by my yellow apple snail. I have 4 snails. one ramshorn. and 3 apple snails (2 are yellow, one is black).

I am going to mist them now because they seem a little dry.

keep me up to date with what I need to do

Just keep up the good work. As they near a week old they start to look really, really dry and will begin to collapse. The babies eat their way out of the clutch and it dissolves, releasing the little ones. If they (the clutches) are stuck to glass then you will see the teeny, tiny babies that form in the back eggs. It's really neat!

They are attached to the glass but they are right up at the rim and there is black liner blocking my view from that direction.
I have been misting them lately. They both seem really dry. Should they stay damp? Should I mist them more frequently?

It's ok if they look alittle dry, that is normal. I have had eggs hatch that I misted twice a day, and I have had them hatch by not doing anything to them at all. I would mist about twice a day.

alright... so I wonder about how much longer til they hatch!!
I will put a nylon stocking over the filter as soon as I see progress in them hatching.

how would i know if they weren't fertilized?

Mine normally hatch in about a week, but it can take up to three. If after three weeks there is no hatching you can break a piece of the clutch off. If there is only a smelly goo inside they are infertle. If there is a teeny, tiny baby snail inside they are fertile and probably need help hatching out. The clutch should dissolve when swished round in a small container of tank water.

I noticed the top of one of my clutches was turning really white.
I was spraying it and the top cracked a little revealing some tiny brown dots (snails).
I left it alone and am going to let it take it's course.
What do you think will happened to the exposed eggs? The clutch?

If this is in a goldfish tank there is the possibity that your fish will eat the tiny hatchlings. It would be better to move them to their own little tank with a sponge filter or something after they hatch. Be very careful moving them as their tiny little shells are so fragile!

I hope they do well. Baby snails are the cutest!!

So They seem to be hatching kind of.. It is all white and stuff. I do not have anotehr tank to put them in other than my tropical tank which has tiny fishies in there.. i was going to put nylon stockings over the filter. Should I just do that? How long does it take for them to reach a non-eatable size?

Since it is already cracking and broken in one place should I just shake it around in some tank water and release them in my tropical tank and hope for the best?

I have 2 snails in my tropical tank that I can transport to the goldfish tank for now so they don't have to worry about them. I just have some mollies and tetra's in my tank. One is about an inch long and the rest are iddy biddy.

I don't expect all of them to survive, nor am I trying to make money. This is just a neat experience and I'd like to give my grandmother some snails for her pond and my mother some for her tank.

They will almost certainly be eaten by the fish if they hatch out into that tank. A couple might make it, they like to hide in the gravel and such. One day there will be little specks all over the tank, then the next day they are gone. A week later you have baby snails everywhere.

How fast they grow really depends on the water conditions. Snails grow faster in warmer water and are more active. Sadly, they also have shorter life spans. They will grow thick, healthy shells if they are provided plenty of calcium and protein, no matter what the water temperature. I like to keep my snail tank at roon temp, which is normally about 74 in my house.

I missed most of your questions. Here goes.

I woulnd't swish the clutch just yet, keep doing whatever you were doing and let nature take it's course. If they are not all hatched out by this time tomorrow I would swish.

Nylons over the intake will work wonderfully. Secure it well with a rubber band.

I would leave the adult snails in, they won't bother the little ones at all. I have actually had better results by leaving the little ones in the tank with the adults.

So even in the tropical tank they are still doomed?

I want to transfer the clutch, should I just put it in a moist bowl with plastic wrap on it until they start to hatch more. Then in a couple days swish it and add them to the tank?


What is the best route for transporting them? I want to transport them while they are still in a clutch, there is NO WAY I could catch these tiny little things once they get out.

The clutch is almost completely dissolved on the top and I can see about a dozen little snails in there. WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?! I don't want them to fall in the water.


The bottom half of the eggs are still pinkish and firm and top is white and crusting where I can see inside of it and see the baby snais looking like they could just fall right into the water. I don't know what to do! HELP!

Sounds like it's time to decide where you're keeping them. :It's normal for them to hatch and fall into the water. The pinkish part of the clutch didn't produce any baby snails. I would now slide the clutch off of the glass and swish it around in the tank water.Once those snails start to hatch out,they can't stay dry for too long or they'll die off.If you're keeping them in the tank that they're in,you can just do it there.If it's goldie's,I'm sure that some will get eaten,but a few may just make it.That's also a good way of keeping the population under control.

Population control sounds so cruel, but I don't know what I'd do with hundreds of snails. Perhaps I could just swish them around and them put them inside the little hole of my ornament (that the fish are too fat to swim into) -- That way, they have a better chance? When will I start seeing them moving about and gooing across the glass?!?!?!

It does sound cruel until you realize that having an over abundance may cause alot of water param problems/illness ,etc. eventually. Snail's are almost as filthy as Goldfish.They need alot of filtration,alot of fresh veggie's which can wreak havoc on your tank params. They are cute little Darlings when they hatch,but they all become as big as a walnut eventually,and that takes up a lot of tank space. I would much rather control the population than get to a point where there are too many to take care of correctly and in a healthy way.Believe me I love my snails.I have multiple snail tanks,with every color you can imagine. Right now,one tank alone has 12clutches and two of those just hatched.
Trying to put all your babies in the hole of the ornament is a waste of time for they'll just crawl right out of it.
If you can set up another tank,or a Rubbermaid tub,that's great,but if you can't,then you can hope for the best that a few make it after letting Mother Nature take it's course. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I agree with everything Devs has said. I thought population control was cruel too, until I had about 150 snails all as big as dimes and nickels in a ten gallon tank. I started adopting them out to thin out my population and finally got down to just two, but I had a little accident with a clutch that I was holding for someone: it hatched. I am going to catch all of them that I can, clean the tank really good, and make it my tiger barb tank. I then take a 5 1/2 gallon and put the snails in it, and then introduce my Betta. I will let Horatio let me know how many I will have from this spawn. It's a lot easier than spending another year growing out snails in poor conditions to be adoped out. They are cute little buggers, tho.

Well? *sorry i sound impatient* It isn't that. I am just so interested in this. It has been a really cool experience.

I'm not sure what you mean.I really didn't think of you as impatient,I was basically just trying to give you some facts.At one time,I owned a couple Hundred full size snails,so I know all about the mess/the filtration they need,etc.
I totally understand the urge to see this event.I think it's natural to get a kick seeing new life happening from the egg on.We all like experiencing that,whether it be fish or snails.AFter you do this though,the best way to keep from becoming over populated,is just to remove the clutches when they're laid,and discard them.Good luck with your babies.

I didn't even see page 2, I assumed no one responded yet. oops!!! hehe

Well I didn't know that I could keep them in a bucket. I figured that it needed more filtration.

I did put a nylon over my filter and put the baby snails in the bottom.

How long til I see one crawling around?

If they are out of the egg they are crawing, you just can't tell as easily when they are that small. I would say, given a proper diet and good water conditions in about two weeks you will be able to see them move around better.

still cant see any of them.

i know some had to of survived

Do you have a gravel substrate? An UGF?

I have aquarium marbles on the bottom.. about a half inch diameter each. About 2 inches thick of them on the botom.
I do not have a UGF. Just a regular 50 gal whisper filter on my 30 gal tank. I do temporarily have a nylon on the filter.

Best bet would be they are down in the marbles, in the little cracks in between. They have a habit of getting into places they don't belong when they are little. Heck, they get into places they don't belong when they are grown!

My worry was that they would get stuck in the marbles and never be able to get out. Im such a worry wart. lol

Even if some do get stuck and can't make it back out it will be ok. If your snails breed like mine do you will have plenty of babies on your hands.