Breeding the Trapdoor Snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis)
Cipangopaludina chinensis is a large cold-tolerant trapdoor snail that bears live young. With separate sexes and high fecundity, it is one of the easier livebearing snails to breed in tanks and ponds.
Overview
Cipangopaludina chinensis, the Chinese mystery or Japanese trapdoor snail, is a large livebearing pond snail in the family Viviparidae, native from the tropics of Indochina to northern China, Japan and eastern Russia. It carries an operculum, a corneous plate that seals the shell aperture for protection against drying out and predation. It tolerates cold well and is often kept in outdoor ponds.
It feeds non-selectively by scraping organic and inorganic bottom material as well as benthic and epiphytic algae, and does not eat plants or fish eggs, making it plant-safe.
Sexing
The species has separate sexes and reproduction is sexually initiated, so both a male and a female are required. Keep a small group to ensure both sexes are present, since reliable external sexing methods are not documented for this species.
Conditioning
Steady feeding and stable water condition the adults. Optimal growth occurs between 20 and 28 °C; the snails hibernate when water falls below about 10-15 °C or rises above 30 °C, which makes them suited to seasonal ponds. They tolerate a broad pH range.
- Temperature: optimal growth 20-28 °C; tolerates cold (record range 4-28 °C)
- pH: 6.5-8.4
- GH: 8-20 °dGH
- Minimum tank volume: 40 L
- Lifespan: females up to 5 years, males up to 3-4
Breeding Setup
No special breeding tank is needed; a mature aquarium or pond with good water quality and ample grazing surfaces is sufficient. A warm-season temperature within the optimal 20-28 °C band supports the breeding period.
Reproduction & Young
This snail is ovoviviparous, bearing live young. Females generally carry embryos from May to August and release young from June through October. Lifetime fecundity is usually more than 169 young, with up to 102 in a single brood, and females bear more in their fourth and fifth years than earlier. Juveniles emerge as small, fully formed snails.
Common Challenges
Breeding is generally straightforward, but the species can become invasive where released, so juveniles must never be discarded into natural waterways. Note that this snail is introduced and established outside its native range in parts of North America and Europe; keep it contained.