Ivory Snail Breeding Guide

The ivory snail is a Pomacea bridgesii color form with separate sexes; the female leaves the water to lay a clutch of eggs above the surface that needs air to develop.

Overview

The ivory snail is a white-to-cream color form of the spike-topped apple snail, Pomacea bridgesii, a South American freshwater snail of the family Ampullariidae. Its native range includes Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. It is a tropical species and cannot tolerate conditions below 10 C (50 F).

Separate Sexes

Pomacea bridgesii is gonochoristic, meaning a male and a female must both be present for reproduction; it is not a hermaphrodite. Reliable visual sexing is difficult, so keeping a group improves the chance of having both sexes.

Eggs & Young

Unlike most aquarium snails, mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line. The female leaves the water and deposits an egg clutch above the surface, where the eggs need air to develop. A single egg-laying event can produce as many as two hundred offspring, although not all eggs are fertilized. The eggs take 2-4 weeks to hatch, after which the young drop into the water.

Common Challenges

Maintaining an air gap between the water surface and the cover lets the female lay clutches successfully; a tank filled to the brim leaves no laying site. Stable warm conditions are important, since the species does not survive temperatures below about 10 C.