Breeding MTS - Is there a trick?

F

fabsroman

AC Members
Sep 30, 2008
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West Friendship, MD
I've set up a 10 gallon to try and breed MTS, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I don't see any little babies anywhere. Is there something I am missing? They are being fed pretty well.

OTOH, in my 29 gallon tank with Assassins in it, the MTS are breeding like crazy. I see the little guys on the side of the tank and on the rocks all the time. They are being fed the same as the guys in the 10 gallon, and I cannot figure out what the difference is.

The 10 gallon does have a Whisper 3 on it set to half power along with the smallest Rena air pump and sponge filter possible. It also has a larger black gravel substrate compared to the 29 gallon tank, and it does not have a light on it whereas the 29 has a Coralife 65 watt light.

Any suggestions on how to maximize my MTS breeding in the 10 gallon? I want to make sure I have a pretty good supply of snails for my Assassins should they ever make a dent in the population in the 29 gallon tank.
 
I don't have any tricks but I do have a lot of MTS. I use a sandy substrate and I keep my water temp around 78 degrees fahrenheit.
 
i add calcium to my water and snail milk... from karma farms...

they seem to breed alot in my shrimp tanks
 
mystic5 said:
i add calcium to my water and snail milk... from karma farms...

they seem to breed alot in my shrimp tanks
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I have RCS in my 29 where the MTS are breeding like crazy. I'm debating whether to put some yellow shrimp in this 10 gallon, but it is in the garage and I have no idea how it will fare over the winter. I'll have to think about the yellow shrimp some more.

How do you add calcium to your water? I have been using Hikari Crab Cuisine which is supposed to have calcium in it, and I have been adding calcium carbonate to my snail jello. Can I just throw some calcium carbonate in the water?
 
You can always get Kent Marine's Liquid Calcium from any pet store. It contains Calcium chloride and raises the GH of your water.
 
fabsroman said:
How do you add calcium to your water? I have been using Hikari Crab Cuisine which is supposed to have calcium in it, and I have been adding calcium carbonate to my snail jello. Can I just throw some calcium carbonate in the water?
Click to expand...

You can use Crushed Coral or Cuttlefish Bone. I just crush a calcium pill up in my snail jello.
 
I didn't know at first- but my original MTS that I received were actually Quilted Melania- they bred like crazy... then I discovered that they breed much slower than regular red ribbon MTS... the mind boggles how quickly those things must reproduce! LOL

I have noticed I do have one or two red ribbons now- not sure where and when I got them from- so it'll be interesting to see if they start booming. I don't mind having them- despite the quilted melania being slightly less common- they're not as pretty as your everyday red ribbon MTS.

None of my snails are taking over so I must not be over-feeding too badly- although I do have a few more than I like.

With snails- the warmer the water the quicker they'll grow, live, reproduce (and sadly die)- their lives are in fast motion- so if you want to crank out babies and growth quickly turn the temp up.
 
I have Red Ribbons and I was only seeing 10 or 15 adults without any babies for the longest time. A couple nights ago, I threw in some food right before lights out, and then it was like cockroaches! I saw well over 30 or 40 babies surfacing! They breed like rabbits!
 
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