Just got home from a long, exhausting, stressful day at work, to discover that the second snail-egg-clutch was all busy hatching.

Lots of wee little snail babies in the breeding net. They all look like more golden babies, like the first lot.

I’m too tired though to get excited and take pictures and stuff.

Today, the second snail egg clutch is 2 weeks old. As I was doing the regular aquarium cleaning etc. I noticed the clutch is starting to turn colour, which indicates it’s nearing its due date…

Wanting to try things differently this time, I got a breeder net set up, gently removed the clutch from the side of the aquarium, and floated it on some foam in the breeder net.

To ensure the clutch stays above water, it is sitting on some little bamboo bits on the foam. Another bit of bamboo ensures the foam stays put, so it doesn’t float around in the net.

You can also see, I’ve positioned some blue cardboard to keep the clutch out of direct light from the aquarium light – this way it gets light but won’t ‘bake’.

So if all goes well, when the babies hatch they will end up in the breeder net where I can watch them and keep an eye on their progress.

As they sit and feel very awkward wondering why this huge head keeps peering down on them.

There’s still two clutches, I’ve left them where they are to let them incubate where the snail(s) put them.

The first clutch is now two weeks old. It’s awkwardly placed on the back of a filter, and I don’t think I’d be able to get it off without damaging it anyways. When it hatches, the babies will just drop down into the tank I guess. The first clutch is the larger one, being over 2 inches long I think.

First Clutch, 2 weeks along

It could just be wishful thinking, but it looks to me that the clutch is starting to turn colour, and I can see what I think are black spots in some of the eggs – little dark coloured babies maybe?

With luck, the first clutch will hatch some time in the next week or so – I’ve read 3 weeks is a common incubation period.

The second clutch is in a better spot for watching and dealing with – I could put a net breeder under it, or even try and knock it off into a net, if I wanted to put the babies somewhere else.

If 3 weeks is the magic number, then the second one has about another fortnight to go.

Second Clutch, 1 week along.

The second clutch is small, only about an inch and a half long, and a half inch around.