How Long Does It Take For Snail Eggs To Hatch?

If you’re planning to place an aquarium at home, then for sure, you’re into buying fishes, corals, water plants, and maybe, snails. I got one at a corner in my living room, pretty enough to watch especially when I need a breather for the day. I like to see those tiny snails sticking on the walls, and slowly move to another place.

Snails help in keeping algae in check. Algae grow fast. I want my snails to multiply faster. So, How long does it take for snail eggs to hatch?

Table of Contents

Freshwater or Aquarium snails

Plenty of freshwater snails are available to choose from for your aquarium. Check the stores, and you’ll find a variety of them ranging from different colors and sizes. The bestseller is the apple snails that could get big up to 6 inches in diameter.

Snails are like roombas for your fish tank - Photo By ThatsABigIf

I bought the Ramshorn snails since I like their blue and pink colors. They look lovely inside the green view of my aquarium. I know that snail lifespan is just a year or two. But I believe that taking good care of my aquarium environment may prolong it.

I learned that the higher the temperature in my tank accelerates more the snail’s metabolism. Faster metabolism may be advantageous for you, but for these poor snails, this means a quicker rate to die. To give you an idea, the ideal water temperature that you need to maintain in your tank is about 75 degrees.
As aquarium snail’s metabolism goes down, they will live longer. Let’s say about 7 years as an average. However, make sure never letting your water temperature drop below 50 degrees. If it does, your snails will die in a few days.

How long does it take for snail eggs to hatch?

Actually, when fertilized, snail lays the eggs, and they hatch between two and four weeks after. Although it’s dependent on the species you have and the condition of your aquarium. It’s best to leave the eggs where their mom lays them so they can hatch naturally.

Apple Snail Eggs - Via Wikimedia

Other occupants in the tank like fishes love to eat eggs. So, the need to move them to a safer place is vital. The eggs are milky and soft when laid, but becomes hard and changes color in a few hours.

Moving eggs is a delicate process. Since they are vulnerable, most likely, you’ll damage more of them when you’re done relocating. However, for better hatchability, relocating the eggs are necessary.

It is important to know that when snails lay their eggs above the waterline, you must not transfer them underneath. You will drown the embryos in doing so. There are also snails that lay eggs underwater, and other species incubate them inside their shell. I have a video showing egg snails hatching that I want to share with you:

life cycle of freshwater snails

Reproduction

Do you know the meaning of hermaphrodites? Hermaphrodites mean an organism has both male and female reproductive organs, like the snails. It’s interesting to learn that a snail can fertilize its own eggs and breed by itself.

However, it doesn’t mean they can’t reproduce together. By just pressing the front part of their feet together and shooting sperm-filled projectiles into each other, they can do it as well. In fact, snails can do this starting one year of age.

Eggs

The mating and self-fertilizing take around two weeks before the snail starts to lay their eggs. They usually burrow a hole underneath to lay and hide the eggs safely. It’s impressive that they can lay about 75 eggs at a time.

At first, the eggs are enclosed together in a jelly-like sac before the snail brings all the eggs with it. In about 4 weeks, the eggs hatch and leave their mother. One snail roughly lay a thousand eggs in its whole lifetime.

Food

Right after hatching, the newly born snails look for food to feed. In fact, the first ever food that they eat is their eggshells after they’re hatched. Snails are omnivores, feasting on algae, small plants, or mineral from rocks.

Are you surprised to learn that snails have thousands of small teeth on their tongue called radula? They’re all strong enough to grind the rocks and absorb them for nutrients. They can eat microscopic organisms too.

Habitat

Freshwater snails live long in water, maybe in a pond or your tank. They can go to land as well, but when not put back into the waters before it dries up, they will die.

How to hatch snail eggs?

Snails are not just a nice sight in your beautiful aquarium but could be a good source of income as well. In case you’re interested in some business ventures, or just helping out how to hatch snail eggs for your pond, you might want to know how.

You will notice that aquatic snails lay their eggs usually at the edge of your tank, above water. It looks like a white or pink substance stuck on your aquarium wall. All you need to do is to learn how to take care of the aquatic eggs.

New snails forming on a leaf in the fish pond - Photo By Jean and Fred

It’s best to place a net breeder for the snails to keep them from harm when inside your tank. The fish loves to snacks on those chewy eggs!
If you don’t have a net breeder, move them to a separate container ensuring safety. This will increase their chance to survive.
Keep them moist regularly. Dry and crusty eggs mean it’s already dead.
When the right time comes, gently scrape the eggs into the breeder, and swish them around the water to dissolve. Watch the baby snails come out.
When the baby snails are already 1 cm in size, you can place them back into your aquarium.

Questions and Answers

How long do aquarium snail eggs take to hatch?

Aquarium snail, such as Ramshorn Snails, eggs usually are small when first laid and must be watched closely to ensure they remain clean.

Most of them take two to four weeks to hatch.

Eggs are laid in small clusters and may look like tiny grains of rice. Aquarium owners often mistake them for fish eggs at first glance. The eggs usually have a jelly-like coating protecting the developing baby snail inside from harm.

Some aquarium snails, such as turbo snails, do not lay their eggs anywhere near water but on land in dark areas. Instead, they prefer damp soil and under rocks with other moisture-loving plants or animal matter around to lay their eggs, also known as ovipositing.

Aquarium snails must be kept in clean conditions for hatching to occur successfully.

How long do garden snail eggs take to hatch?

Some garden snails lay their eggs in the soil. Some land snails lay their eggs under leaves, a rock, a piece of debris near your plants or bark, or wherever else they may feel safe.

Some garden snail species lay large batches of eggs, depending on where in the world they live. For example, garden snails from tropical regions produce clutches containing between 12 and 80 eggs each, while those living in cooler parts of the world may lay only four or five at a time.

The number of days for garden snail eggs to hatch depends on a couple of factors, such as the temperature where they are kept.

The optimum range is usually between 14 and 27 degrees Celsius, but you may find eggs taking between two weeks to one month to hatch depending on what type of snail you have, and the time of year it was laid.

Approximately four weeks after being laid, your garden snail eggs should begin to hatch. The snails will emerge green in color and without shells that they will need to grow throughout their lives.

The baby snails need ample food from algae and other microorganisms that live in soil so keep this in mind if you decide to keep any hatchlings as pets.

CONCLUSION

How long does it take for snail eggs to hatch? Depending on the species and the environment, it usually takes about 4 weeks before hatching. It’s fascinating to learn that these little creatures are not just decorations in your tank but also helps control the algae problem by eating them.

I’ve learned that there is plenty to know if you just start taking an interest even to the most natural sight around you. I hope you think the same as well.

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