Mysterious Yellowish Eggs and Tiny White Organisms in my 75-Gallon Aquarium

[smoosh]

Hi everyone! A few minutes ago, I noticed some yellowish-looking eggs attached to the glass above the waterline. Some of these eggs have hatched, and I can see extremely small white organisms moving slowly around them. I'm a bit unsure as to what these might be.

Here's some background information on my tank's inhabitants:

• 6 Boesemani Rainbowfish
• 10 Neon Tetras
• 6 Otos
• 8 Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish
• 7 Cherry Barbs
• 1 nerite snail
• 1 mystery snail

Additionally, I should mention that I do have a few pest snails in the tank, primarily bladder snails.

My initial thought was that these eggs might be from my mystery snail, but I'm not entirely sure. Has anyone encountered a similar situation in their aquarium? Any ideas or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help! Pictures:

 

[Essjay]

Mystery snail eggs. They lay eggs above the water line which look like bunches of tiny grapes.
Your snail must be female - and female mystery snails can store sperm for a month after mating, so just like guppies etc they can lay eggs in the absence of a male.

 

[smoosh]

Mystery snail eggs. They lay eggs above the water line which look like bunches of tiny grapes.
Your snail must be female - and female mystery snails can store sperm for a month after mating, so just like guppies etc they can lay eggs in the absence of a male.

Thank you so much for your prompt response! It's fascinating to know that these are mystery snail eggs.

Regarding the mystery snail, it has been in the tank for about 8 months now without the presence of another mystery snail. I did a bit of research, and I've decided to remove the eggs and place them in a bag in my freezer. Also, if my snail were to produce more eggs in the future, would they potentially hatch, or are they likely to be infertile given that it has been kept alone for the past 8 months?

 

[Colin_T]

I would leave the eggs where they are and see if they hatch. The snails are easy to deal with and won't breed out of control, unlike some species.

Mystery snails have separate sexes and I don't know if the females can hold sperm from previous matings so this is a good experiment, which could answer that question.
Can female mystery snails hold sperm from previous matings?

 

[Essjay]

According to the now disappeared website applesnail.net, females can hold sperm for a month after mating.

The site and every page on the site will take a while to load as we have to use Wayback Machine. Go to 'anatomy' in the menu on the left, then 'reproduction' in the menu across the top of that page. Then scroll down to female reproductive system.

The Apple Snail (Ampullariidae) Website

Information about apple snails (Ampullariidae): ecology, care, anatomy, species and genera, FAQ, literature, photographs, diseases and more.

web.archive.org