Sulawesi elephant snails.

Hi everyone,

I am really interested in buying a sulawesi elephant snail as I think they are so adorable. However, I am struggling to find out whether they are asexual or do they need a male and female to breed.

I've tried searching the internet, bu I couldn't find an answer. So I was wondering whether anyone here would know.

Any help/info greatly appreciated,
Becky.

Quote :

I am struggling to find out whether they are asexual or do they need a male and female to breed.

So far I havent seen this species mate, although they may just like the privacy after lights out.. Babies have been turning up overnight, without egg cases, so I would say they are livebearers, but the question still remains over separate sexes. Hope this helps.

There is a really good article in this months Practical Fishkeeping (March issue). It also explains that these snails are male and female and that the females DO lay egg cases, but these dissolve only a few hours after they have been laid to release the small baby snails into the tank - hence i never saw an egg case!

I belive from personal experiences that they DO NOT lay egg cases.
I say this because they are prone to shock births during transit and it happened to muine on a half hour car journey and i could see no sighn of egg casings
Also, they arent asexual, needing a male and a female to make young.

Tylomelania (elephant snail) need male and female for reproduction.
The male fecundates the female through a spermatfor, once at 2-8 weeks.
The baby develops in a breeding sac inside the female.
When the time comes, the egg goes through a groove, that starts on the right side of the female's body, and travels along the body to the head, with the help of female contractions. There, it pops out of the female shell, and within several minutes, the white egg-shell dissolves, and the baby appears. It has a soft shell at the begining, that hardens in a few days.

So, if you dont see the birth, you have all the chances to see in a few minutes only the baby, without the cracked egg.

Please pardon my english, it's not my first language.
Regards.