How big do mystery snails get?
Up to 5 cm (2 inches) across the shell — sold at coin size in stores, full size in a few months of good feeding.
How long do mystery snails live?
About 1 year, sometimes 2. They grow fast and age fast; buying a juvenile means having it for most of that window.
Mystery snail tank size and water parameters
One to two snails in a 5+ gallon tank — they produce a remarkable amount of waste for their size, so filtration matters more than volume. Temperature 20–26 °C, pH 7.0–8.0, and enough calcium (mineral-rich water, cuttlebone or snail-safe supplements) to keep the shell thick and smooth.
What do mystery snails eat?
Algae, biofilm, sinking pellets and blanched vegetables — zucchini, spinach and kale are favorites. They leave healthy plants alone; a snail "eating" a thriving plant usually means it is actually eating algae on it, or the plant is already dying.
Why is my mystery snail floating — is it dead?
Floating is usually normal. Mystery snails fill their shell with air to migrate or ride currents, and they pump it back out. A dead snail smells foul, hangs out of its shell, and does not respond to touch. If the body is still sealed inside the shell, give it time — check again in an hour before concluding the worst.
What are those pink egg clusters above the waterline?
Mystery snail eggs: clutches of 50–200 eggs laid above the water, hatching in 2–4 weeks. Remove the clutch if you do not want two hundred snails; this is the one control method that actually works, because the eggs cannot hatch underwater.
Beginner mistakes to avoid
- Assuming a floating snail is dead and flushing it — most are simply commuting.
- Mineral-poor water: the shell pits and erodes long before anything else goes wrong.
- Housing them with loaches, puffers or crayfish — snail-eaters will eventually eat them.
- No lid: they climb out to lay eggs and are found on the floor more often than any other aquarium snail.