Mystery Snail - Care Sheet

Mystery Snail - Part of the Apple snail family.


Scientific name: Pomacea Diffusa (formerly Pomacea Bridgesii)

Overview: Adult size is approximately 2.5" , roughly the size of a golf ball.
This species of snail is safe for planted tanks as they will not eat your healthy plants. They will eat the dead or dying parts though, which can be of some benefit due to you not having to prune as much!

Life span: On average 1.5 years.

Acclimating: When you first get your snail home you will need to acclimate it before putting it in your tank. Float the bag in your tank for at least a half an hour to match the temp of your tank. Then add some of the water from your tank to the bag with the snail. Add tank water slowly for at least another half hour until the bag has mostly tank water in it then take the snail out and place in your tank! Don't dump the water in the bag in your tank, dispose of that in a sink drain. This will ensure that anything in the water that could harm you tank inhabitants is disposed of.

Tank Requirements: Each adult snail needs 2.5 gallons of tank space. Make sure that the tank water has been treated with de-chlorinator. The snails need water with a PH of 7.0 to 8.0. Water with too low or too high PH will cause shell erosion. Just like fish, they cannot tolerate ammonia or nitrite, and cannot tolerate high levels of nitrate. They are a tropical species and need the water at temperatures between 72-80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tank mates: Any peaceful community fish. Not recommended with nippy fish, their tentacles will be a target!

Feeding: Algae wafers and any type of sinking pellet food. They love blanched cucumber, lettuce, squash, green beans, ect. They will also eat food that your other fish miss at feeding time as well as some of the algae in the tank.

Calcium: Calcium is important for a healthy shell. A few good ways to give your snail calcium are vacation feeders for fish, cuttlebone( like for birds), and even calcium supplements for humans! When they have eaten one then just add another.

Breeding: These snails are sexual, meaning you must have a male and a female to reproduce. The females lay the egg clutches above the water so you can just remove any eggs to control the population.
Mystery snails make very fun and interesting pets! If you have any questions about your new pet you can visit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] . It is a site that has a lot of information as well as a forum where you can ask your questions! Enjoy your new snail.

Care sheet kindly written by Flip