Freshwater Snail Eggs in Fish Tank: What To Do?
Jaime Douglas
Writer at The Aquarium Keeper
Probably every aquarium keeper has encountered freshwater snail eggs in fish tank before and did not know what to do with them. Sometimes it can be scary and confusing seeing random snail eggs appearing out of nowhere. Some people tend to instantly remove the eggs, others want them to hatch. In this article, I will help you understand where the eggs came from, and what to do with them.
Table of Contents
How To Identify Snail Eggs in Fish Tank?
Every aquarium snail lays different eggs, that vary in size and appearance. Some of the eggs hatch quicker, some need more time and other eggs don’t even hatch at all. It is very important to understand what snail eggs look like, so you would know what steps to take after you discover the eggs.
Mystery Snail Eggs
To begin, mystery snails are also called “Apple Snails”. Mystery snails come in a bunch of different colors and are one of the most active snails in the aquarium hobby.
They lay a bunch of eggs at once that are white or pink in color. These snails lay their eggs at the top of the aquarium, even out of water. The eggs do have a chance to hatch if they are kept moist, and if both male and female.
The eggs will start growing and changing in color, eventually, small snail babies are going to come out, hungry and ready for the world! Just be sure you don’t get the eggs too much wet! You can also just remove the eggs and use them as food for fish. Some fish species love snails, so snail eggs would be a perfect snack for them!
You might also like to read: Infertile Mystery Snail Eggs: How Do They Look?
Nerite Snail Eggs
Nerites are one of the most popular aquarium snails. You can find nerites pretty much in any aquarium store. There are a lot of different nerite snail types: some snails have stripes, others have dots on their shells, and some may even have horns.
Unlike mystery snails, nerites lay eggs one at a time, not in big batches. Nerites usually go around the tank and lay eggs on rocks, wood, glass, and other decorations. Nerite snail eggs differ from mystery snail eggs because it is very unlikely that they will hatch.
Nerite snail eggs need brackish water to survive, although it is possible that the eggs will hatch in freshwater, it is very unlikely that the baby snail will survive. The best option is to just remove the eggs and throw them out or use them as a snack for your lovely fish. For this same reason, some people do not like nerite snails, because they go around and lay eggs in the fish tank, sometimes ruining their appearance.
Rabbit Snail Eggs
The rabbit snail is also sometimes called “Elephant Snail”. These types of snails are one of the most unique looking out there and can be a great addition to a good aquarium. There are also a lot of unique rabbit snail colors to choose from.
Rabbit snails lay eggs that look very similar to nerite snail eggs, so be sure not to mix them up! Although the eggs look very similar, rabbit snails don’t need brackish water and usually hatch. The eggs usually hatch in 4-6 weeks, but they need to be fertilized by a rabbit snail. You can find these eggs anywhere in your aquarium: on the glass, wood, rocks, and other decorations. If you do not want any more rabbit snails, you can just remove the eggs and use them as food or throw them out.
Ramshorn Snail Eggs
Ramshorns are really good at hitchhiking. Even if you didn’t buy them, they can appear in your aquarium with new plants and decorations. Although a lot of people say ramshorn snails are invasive, these little creatures are excellent at cleaning your aquarium.
Ramshorn snails lay a bunch of eggs at one time, similar to mystery snails. They lay eggs very often and can quickly reproduce and the eggs turn into a normal snail in about 4-6 weeks. If you like to have a lot of snails in your aquarium, then the ramshorn snail is a perfect option for you. If you don’t like a bunch of snails, you can remove the eggs to control the population.
What To Do With Snail Eggs?
There are three options when it comes to aquarium snail eggs. Your choice depends on your personal preference because some people love snails, and others despise these little aquatic creatures.
Keep The Snail Eggs
If you have certain snail species that you know will hatch, keep them! Snail development and growth is a very beautiful process that shows how easily organisms grow and repopulate. Snails are amazing at eating all sorts of algae and they are a perfect option as a clean-up crew for your aquarium!
Some snail species reproduce very fast, so be sure you control your snail population, otherwise, you will have a problem when there will be too many snails in your aquarium because more snails will lay even more snail eggs in your fish tank!
Use Snail Eggs As Food
If you have a fish that is dependent on high-protein foods, there is a good chance that you can feed it snail eggs. Fish like pea puffers, bettas, cichlids, and loaches love snail eggs! If you are fortunate enough to have aquarium snails and fish that eat the eggs at the same time, it means you have a free food source for your beloved aquarium fish. Just be sure you don’t overfeed your fish!
Throw Out The Snail Eggs
If you don’t have any fish that would eat the snail eggs and don’t want to do anything with a growing snail population, just throw the snail eggs out! A lot of aquarists don’t like snails in their aquarium, because it is hard to control the population once it takes off.
A big number of snails also produce a lot of waste in your aquarium, which can affect other aquatic animals’ health, so be sure to remove as many snail eggs as possible. If the snail eggs are on decoration or your aquarium glass, you can use a basic supermarket card or any other card that you do not use to scrape them off.
Writer's Thoughts And Personal Experience
Personally, I believe that snails are more beneficial to your aquarium than a problem. They take care of algae problems and eat all the leftovers after feeding. But it is also important to control the snail population because too many snails can cause big problems for your aquarium. If you start to notice more snails than usual, take action and do something about it, because, if left untreated, snail invasion will be a certain reality in your aquarium.
Jaime Douglas
Thank you for reading my blog post. This website was created with the sole intention of providing quality information regarding fishkeeping. I have been in the fishkeeping hobby for 8 years, and through many trials and errors as well as online research I gathered a lot of information, which I want to give back to the community.
