Guppygirl Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hi, I was wondering how large MTS have to be to start breeding? I have some right now that their shells are 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. I have seen 5 that size. I know I originally put in about 15 babies so the others may be hiding in the gravel. I have a tank that is full of air pockets in the gravel and so I put one of the 5 in that tank but I don't know how much work one snail will do, so if it breeds I can move the babies around. Any firsthand knowledge would be greatly appriciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I started out with about six of these snails and now I have about six thousand. They can reproduce once they reach 10mm in length. One snail can produce about seventy babies by itself. They're all female and self-fertilizing. Okay, so 6000 might be a bit of an exaggeration (then again...maybe not). I have enough from several generations that I can't count them all and regularly do cullings to keep up some appearance of population control. So...I wouldn't worry. If you started with fifteen, even if some of them didn't survive, soon enough you will have...lots. If you're impatient though, you're welcome to trek down to my place and raid the tank. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Go have a look at your tank during the night- you may have more than you thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 (edited) I started out with about six of these snails and now I have about six thousand. They can reproduce once they reach 10mm in length. One snail can produce about seventy babies by itself. They're all female and self-fertilizing.Okay, so 6000 might be a bit of an exaggeration (then again...maybe not). I have enough from several generations that I can't count them all and regularly do cullings to keep up some appearance of population control. So...I wouldn't worry. If you started with fifteen, even if some of them didn't survive, soon enough you will have...lots. If you're impatient though, you're welcome to trek down to my place and raid the tank. : ) I've got to agree with Shai here. I got about a dozen at the last CAS auction, (Thanksgiving weekend) split them up between 3 tanks....... in one tank I can easily count about 50 before giving up. They seem to breed fastest in the brackish tank, I thought because of the salt, but talking with another aquarist who has tons in a discus tank, it may be that they breed faster in warmer waters. My brackish tank, the one that's just full of these little guys, is also my warmest tank. And speaking of these snails..... I'd just like to remind everyone that I am now giving them away for free! :thumbs: Come and get 'em! Edited December 14, 2007 by Stacey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I started out with 6 and within 3 months I had 4 tanks infested with them. Snail hunting loaches are keeping them in check. I have some in 2 tanks that range from itty bitty babies to a couple I have seen at 1" long. Don't know what breeds faster, Flies, Rabbits, or MTS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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