The Underwater Railroad has been hard at work in my fishroom, leading my mystery snails from a life of captivity in a tiny breeder net to… well, to a life of captivity in somewhat larger quarters.
I’ve been gradually moving mystery snails out of the breeder net where I’ve been growing them out. I wanted them to get bigger before I let them roam freely in the 55-gallon community, but I knew the time had come for them to live in a larger space than the breeder net could give them. I’ve been moving a few at a time into the “filtration station” tank, which I had used to cycle a few sponge filters using fish food as the ammonia source (of course, I cleaned it out first, and now the snails are keeping the filters cycled).
All was well… until I filled the 55-gallon tank a little too high, allowing the water level to reach the top of the breeder net.
It was like the Great Escape of the aquatic world. I found maybe a dozen or more snails crawling free in the tank, exploring their new home and searching for food. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep them fed, since they’ll be competing with the cories and angels for food. I’ll catch any that come within reach and put them back in the net, or in their new growout tank, but some will probably roam free for weeks to come.
Oh, well. Life will find a way, right? Hopefully they’ll be able to scavenge enough food to stay healthy.
