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[FS] Purple and blue mystery snails [4/23 update: pinks]


josu2

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48 minutes ago, oem said:

It stinks that we can't spend more time on the things that we enjoy. :notfair: That said it is interesting about the blue males breeding.  Perhaps they mature sooner or I know in chickens that sex link colors are common.   Brown Cherry m x Rhode Island White f produces a white male chick and a brown female chick every time.

 

I understand about the growth pattern rings but curious about the dents/cracks ?   Thanks

 

These are relatively few and far between, but the very edge of the shell—where the new growth is—is fairly fragile to chipping and such. Every now and then, a snail will have that happen and as it grows there will usually be an indention or an odd layering on that part of the shell. I have very few that clearly have dents per se, but some that I can't tell whether it's an odd growth pattern or minor damage. I had one fellow who had a nice-sized dent, but for the life of me I cannot find it anymore! Maybe the growth has pushed it all the way to the substrate side of the shell where I can't see it...

 

And as for cracks, I don't really have any that have what I believe to be literal cracks, but that kind of patterning attributable to odd growth. There are a couple of young ones for whom the tip of the spire is very dinged up, though. This is the oldest part of the shell and they probably were bumped as babies when older ones fell on top of them. They can reinforce these from the inside, but the outside portion in that area will always be irregular.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got a hold of josu2 the other day and finals at school are keeping him very busy and will get with everyone as soon as he can.,,, Mike

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On 5/3/2016 at 9:36 AM, boothie said:

Hi there, checking back in on the status of the dark footed purple snails.  Any pairing up?

 

Thanks,

 

Jan

 

I have at one point seen a purple mounting another one, so I know there's at least one!

 

On 5/3/2016 at 4:58 PM, oem said:

I got a hold of josu2 the other day and finals at school are keeping him very busy and will get with everyone as soon as he can.,,, Mike

 

Thanks for chiming in :D

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  • 2 months later...
On March 6, 2016 at 11:47 AM, josu2 said:

EDIT 4/23: Making some pinks available, with special conditions

 

After two successful shipments, I'm happy to start expanding a bit. I have blue and purple mystery snails available for sale, all at a young age of 2 months or less. Sizes that I would ship range from ~pea and on up, now getting larger than a marble in some cases. At adulthood, these fellows get to be the size of a golf ball or so.

 

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Buying from a "breeder" like me (I put it in quotes because this is far from a commercial operation) is nice because you actually know something about the life history of the animal and you don't have to worry about broken shells and the like from shoddy shipping methods. Mystery snails live from 12-24 months in most cases so it is very useful information to know when they were born like you do in my case; the big beautiful one you see at a LFS may in fact be very elderly.

 

Some things to know about mystery snails:

  • They reproduce sexually, needing both male and female. Females can store sperm for several months before laying eggs, kind of like some livebearing fish.
  • Unlike livebearing fish, mystery snails lay large sacks of eggs. These are laid above the waterline, usually on some dry but humid surface like inside a hood. Many will simply refuse to lay eggs if kept in a tank that is completely full and lacks such a surface. Below is a picture of an egg sack I removed from my hood (by accident...) but wanted to hatch. I let it float on a piece of styrofoam and you can see here the moment of truth as the babies made their trek to their new aquatic habitat.

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  • Eggs take 2-4 weeks to hatch, depending on ambient temperature and other factors. They are very easy to remove and you should have complete control over whether you end up with any more mysteries than you started with.
  • Mystery snails can tolerate cooler water conditions, into the low 60s Fahrenheit. Mortality will be high if kept much above 80 and in general their life expectancy is linked to temperature.
  • They prefer calcium hardness in the water, I'd recommend at least 6 degrees GH. Older specimens will sometimes start to have shell wear with pitting, etc. This isn't a problem if it doesn't go too deep. Neutral water and alkaline pHs are okay, they are adaptable to moderately acidic pH as well but you may see quicker shell deterioration over the long run.
  • They do not eat live plants. If you see one munching on a plant, chances are it found a dying portion or is scraping algae off of it. In lab studies, they have starved to death when given nothing but live plants to eat. Blanched veggies are relished as are basically any food fed to fish and other inverts.
  • They are pet snails, not pest snails. I mean this in various ways. Yes, they won't reproduce like pests. They also need attention in terms of feeding in a way that pests don't. They can scavenge very well, but won't be able to live off of algae and dead plant material. Their bioload is also meaningful in a way that pest snails' aren't. I have a mason jar jarrarium with some bladder snails in it with no water changes, filtration, etc. for months. Mysteries poop too much for those kinds of arrangements so they need to be in tanks with some real filtration and you can't stock them too heavily. I'd suggest something like 5 gallons for the first one, then 2-3 for each after that. They can be kept singly without a problem, but they do not mind each others' company either, as you might notice from the photos.

Available are purples and blues. The light colored ones that look kind of pink/purple in the photos are not yet available since they are sufficiently rare that I want to make sure I keep a good breeding set of them around. They will probably become available in the future though. The purples are fairly rare as well, but I have them in good numbers. You will see blues at chain pet stores sometimes, but you will probably find that mine are higher quality and you won't have to worry whether they have been painted (yes, some stores do that!).

 

These can coexist with shrimps but do make sure to think about water parameters. As far as temperament, these snails won't hurt any of your shrimps or even notice them. Shrimps will enjoy taking a ride on a snail now and then.

 

Price and stuff

 

Purples – $4.50/each

Blues – $2.50/each

Pinks – $5.50/each Note: Pinks may only be purchased on large orders than include 10 total snails, amount available per order will vary depending on stock.

 

I will consider lowering the prices on larger orders. There are limited quantities available, but I'll update the post if I run too low.

 

Shipping is paid by the buyer, I'll charge just what it costs. Default option is USPS Priority Mail. I can fit small orders in a small flat rate box. I will ship primarily on Mondays. I can do quicker shipping methods if you prefer and are willing to pay whatever the added cost is. Please think about the weather where you are and let me know if you are worried about temperatures. I have up to 72 hour heat packs for $2 if needed. For the most part, my shipping methods keep things around $10 and often well below that. I would imagine west coast buyers would have a higher shipping cost in general as I'm in the eastern time zone.

 

If any are DOA, please contact me with photos immediately. I may ask you to crush the deceased and send me photos of the result as snails can look pretty dead when they aren't mobile. A dead snail smells very bad. If there isn't an "oh my god" smell, leave it in its tank for a while and see if it perks up. Sometimes the stress of shipping may cause the snail to become extremely inactive for the first few days. I will refund any DOA and if you are willing to pay shipping I will ship replacements without extra cost.

 

 

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Josu2, are you still breeding your snails? Very interested!

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oooo! Are there any available for purchase!

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Sorry all, I am officially out of the snail breeding business! I love these guys, but it was just too labor intensive to keep so many extremely messy snails in my limited tank space.

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