Mystery snail growth is fast, and they can increase in number within few weeks. It is almost part of each aquarium because of its good habits and keeps the water clean by eating algae.
Why is My Mystery Snail Growing So Fast? Yes, mystery snails can grow fast. Their growth rate depends on the snail species, and they grow too quickly if you give them unlimited food. The time duration from the egg to an adult snail (2 to 3 inches in size) is approximately 8 weeks. The life span of mystery snails is around 1 year, and the snail shell growth is along with its lifetime.
Contents
Why is My Mystery Snail Growing So Fast?
Mystery snail is a good creature that many aquarists want to keep as a pet in their aquarium. These species are easy to handle and have fun watching their activities, but they also necessary for aquarium cleaning.
Mystery snail species available in different colors like brown, white, and shell color vary like light brown, black strips, etc. They are excellent scavengers of different habitats like rivers, lakes, ponds, and many others because of eating dead plant and animal decompose matter.
They prefer to live at the water bottom substrate due to collecting food at the bottom.
Breeding of mystery snails
These snail species are gonochoristic, which means breeding both males and females required. If you want the incredible color species, then choose species with different colors.
If you wish to the same species as the parent, then stick to individual color. Sometimes, you can differentiate the gender by their color, as males have light-color while females have dark color in the breeding mood.
You can also make groups of females and males with different colors to make breeding easy. For reproduction, the size of the snail species is approximately quarterly or more significant than this.
The snail can grow so fast, and the snail mating attitude determines the gender difference. In mating conditions, the male always mounts on the female species.
You have to make the proper condition for their breeding. Increase the temperature to stimulate breeding. You take care while raising the temperature makes it slow so that snails acclimate to it.
The optimum temperature condition for breeding is approximately 74-78 Fahrenheit. They require enough food for breeding stimulation.
Egg clutches indicate that the best food is available for them. The whole process from the laying egg to the snail’s proper growth completes in 8 weeks approximately.
Mystery Snail Diet
You make sure that babies are getting proper nourishment and diet from different sources and well-fed. Periphyton is an organism population in which other plants, algae, microorganisms like bacteria, and various detritus substances are present.
For mystery snail fast growth, this is a beneficial source of food. They like to eat multiple veggies like zucchini, kale, and cuttlebone. You can also add the freeze-dried green beans in chopped form; it is a good source of nutrients and minerals.
You can feed them by using various snails feeding method. Place a flat tray, and put the food on it. Avoid placing the food on the bottom surface as it can attract different worms and insects.
Moreover, the snail will charge toward the tray and eat it with the best feast. You have to evacuate the uneaten food and add clean water regularly.
Snail babies love to eat peas with spirulina in combination, gelatin, and any other suitable combination.
Mystery snails are excellent eaters with a good appetite, so excessive aquarium waste is sufficient for them. Besides, they eat live plants if you do not give them enough food, and their growth rate becomes high.
To avoid this, give them a sufficient amount of fish food like flakes. They eat algae and bio-films with other food like algal wafers, fish flakes and pellets, and suitable vegetation. Mystery contains the good sensory organs which sense the smell of food and attract toward it quickly.
Water conditions
You have to maintain the different water parameters like temperature, ph, nitrogenous material level for mystery snails. The temperature around 82 degrees give the hatching and fast growth with plenty of food. Raise the temperature for the first two weeks like 88; it brings it down like 79 degrees.
Maintain the pH, KH, GH level at optimum range approximately 7.0, 5, and 9-10, respectively. Optimize the water level according to their needs. Please avoid using any copper source; they are susceptible to it.
You have to make the proper checkup up of water parameters; otherwise, it affects your aquatic snails’ growth rate. You do not add such kinds of copper enriched items as any food, vegetation, medication, or plant fertilizer. When you introduce such stuff or buy from the stores, make it clear that these are copper-free.
Relaxed environment
You give your mystery snail relax and calm environment. Evacuate your aquarium water properly so that uneaten food parts remove out and then put the fresh food for them.
Optimum temperature with proper ammonia level is suitable for them, which enhances their growth rate and development.
Ensure that any predator that is harmful to them avoids placing them in the aquarium because they are vulnerable to them.
Space to grow
You have to provide them with an isolated environment where any other aquatic inhabitants like fish; shrimps are not present, which attack them. Make them isolate in another tank with excess food.
Plenty of vegetation in the aquarium
You can give your snail plenty of vegetation like kale, zucchini, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, green beans, and spinach.
Chopped and blanch forms are suitable for them and easy to swallow and make their digestion process more comfortable. Snails can eat different types of plants, vegetables, fruits, and leaves, including pawpaw, eggplant, kola, pumpkin, and water leaves.
The snail can eat various kinds of fruits and vegetable tuber form like apple, potato. Mystery snail requires a sufficient amount of nutrients like carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins, which increase the rate of growth and metabolism level.
In natural food sources, pawpaw leaves are an excellent food source for your mystery snail because of ample nutrient content like 60% crude protein, which is beneficial for their development and growth.
You have to take precautions in giving snail the household wastes because of high salt content, and it is no good for their health. Young or babies snails love to eat the leafy vegetables it helpful to reduce their palatability.
Moisture level
Snail prefers the damp habitat to the excess wet. In humid or rainy conditions, they do not need plenty of food. They can eat during the night time or day time, so once in a day is sufficient.
The substrate also requires moisture during day and night to remain in the normal range. According to the snail requirements, the aquarium’s moisture level is approximately 80-90% is the ideal condition for them.
If the moisture level increases, use the heat-mat, which removes the gravel’s moisture, makes a suitable environment for them, and eliminates any difficulty affecting their growth rate.
Population density
Population density affects the mystery snail growth and development. These factors are essential to limit the parasite infection and infestation in snails, further damaging the other aquatic inhabitants.
If the snail density is high, it increases the competition between the snail’s population for survival and somehow affects getting food.
You should isolate make the less dense snail not to face any difficulty in obtaining food. In densely populated condition the excretion of nitrogenous waste also high, which disturb the optimum aquarium parameters.
Calcium uptake
Snail shell requires plenty of calcium for development. You can provide calcium in different varieties like eggshell and oyster shell powder, which you sprinkle into the water and dissolve in it.
Ground limestone is also a good source of calcium uptake. Freshwater snails obtain a sufficient amount of calcium from the aquarium water the level of it in the aquarium is around 70-80mg/L, and the tank must not be overpopulated.
You can provide them with the cuttlebone in a sufficient amount of aquarium water that the snail eats at times. These are not costly and readily available at many pet stores and become soft and sticky.
Shaded area
Direct sunlight affects the snail’s health and not beneficial for them. Therefore, snails prefer to live in shaded areas like aquarium wall sides, under plants, and rocks. For the young mystery snail shaded area is most suitable for their growth and development.
Related Articles:
How do fish tank snails reproduce?
How to keep aquarium snails in ponds?
Do aquarium snails have teeth?
