1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful scavenger.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Peaceful scavenger.
Algae, vegetables and sinking foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Separate sexes; females grow larger and faster than males. (In viviparids the male's right tentacle is modified as a penis, but this was not confirmed in a source for this species.)
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Live-bearing · Easy
Livebearer (ovoviviparous): females brood eggs in albumen-filled capsules for about 9-10 months and release crawling young; can carry more than one batch at a time.
Keep several.
Cool tank.
Warm summer water.
About 4-81 young per female, averaging around 11; larger females carry more.
Young snails graze.
A livebearing river snail from the south-eastern USA and Mississippi basin with four chestnut bands on the shell; it does well in cool northern waters, where it has spread widely as an invader.
American naturalist Isaac Lea described this snail in 1834. It is native to the south-eastern United States and has spread northward, and it is sometimes kept in ponds and cool aquariums.
First described by Isaac Lea in 1834. Named for Named after the US state of Georgia.
14 facts checked with sources
Rename: MolluscaBase and USGS NAS now use Callinina georgiana (after Stelbrink et al. 2020); FWGNA (Dillon) keeps Viviparus georgianus. "V. georgianus" is also a species complex (Katoh & Foltz 1994), so northern invasive populations may not be georgiana in the strict sense.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Viviparus georgianus (I. Lea, 1834), AphiaID 397203 · MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Callinina georgiana (I. Lea, 1834), AphiaID 1456449 · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana) · FWGNA (Dr Rob Dillon, Freshwater Gastropods of North America): Viviparus georgianusLegacy has no family.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Callinina georgiana (I. Lea, 1834), AphiaID 1456449No maximum size found. Lea's 1834 type shell was 1.1 in (2.8 cm) long; mature females exceed 16 mm. Legacy 4 cm not confirmed.
Wikipedia: Viviparus georgianus (text largely from USGS NAS; cites Jokinen 1982, Browne 1978, Vail 1978)No numeric range; a temperate species that overwinters in deeper water.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana)Field range. Legacy 7-8.5.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana) · Wikipedia: Viviparus georgianus (text largely from USGS NAS; cites Jokinen 1982, Browne 1978, Vail 1978)Found in both soft and hard water; no dGH figures.
Wikipedia: Viviparus georgianus (text largely from USGS NAS; cites Jokinen 1982, Browne 1978, Vail 1978)Females 28-48 months (2.3-4 yr), males 18-36 months (1.5-3 yr). Legacy 3-4 years fits females only.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana)Legacy has no range.
FWGNA (Dr Rob Dillon, Freshwater Gastropods of North America): Viviparus georgianus · Wikipedia: Viviparus georgianus (text largely from USGS NAS; cites Jokinen 1982, Browne 1978, Vail 1978)Legacy said not visibly different.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana)Legacy gave no number.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: banded mysterysnail (Callinina georgiana) · Wikipedia: Viviparus georgianus (text largely from USGS NAS; cites Jokinen 1982, Browne 1978, Vail 1978)No legal source checked. Native to the USA; not on the EU Union list (2025). Invasive status in northern US states/Canada not checked for legal listings.
Wikipedia: List of invasive alien species of Union concern (cites Reg. (EU) 2025/1422)