Japanese Trapdoor Snail Breeding Guide

Cipangopaludina are ovoviviparous livebearers with separate sexes: females brood eggs internally and give birth to a small number of fully formed crawling young.

Overview

The Japanese trapdoor snail, Cipangopaludina japonica, belongs to the family Viviparidae, a group of East Asian freshwater snails. Members of the genus have a gill and an oval corneous operculum, the "trapdoor" that seals the shell opening. They are native to East Asia and feed non-selectively on organic and inorganic bottom material, including algae.

Separate Sexes

Unlike many aquarium snails, viviparids are not hermaphrodites: reproduction is initiated sexually, so both a male and a female must be present. This is one reason the snail does not overrun a tank the way self-fertile or parthenogenetic snails do.

Livebearing & Young

The genus is ovoviviparous: females brood the eggs internally and produce live, fully formed young rather than laying egg clutches. In the closely related Chinese mystery snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis), a single brood can contain up to 102 young, and female lifetime output is usually greater than 169 young, with females bearing more young in their 4th and 5th years. Females may live up to 5 years and males up to 3-4 years.

Common Challenges

Because young are released a few at a time as crawling juveniles and require both sexes, population growth is slow and easy to manage compared with prolific pest snails. A stable, well-fed pair is enough to produce occasional young over the snail's multi-year lifespan.