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.
Check your local laws. EU: listed as an invasive alien species of Union concern from 7 Aug 2025 (Implementing Reg. (EU) 2025/1422, listed as Cipangopaludina chinensis), so keeping, breeding, selling and importing it are restricted EU-wide. US: regulated or listed as invasive in several states, e.g. prohibited in New York and regulated under Wisconsin rule NR 40. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Considered invasive in some regions.
Algae, vegetables and sinking foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Separate sexes. In adult males the right tentacle is shorter and bent like a hook (it works as a penis); females have two straight tentacles and grow larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Live-bearing · Easy
Livebearer (ovoviviparous): females brood eggs in a uterus and release small crawling young (about 4 mm) during the warmer months.
Keep several.
Cool tank.
Warm summer water.
Up to about 102 young per brood; roughly 65 young per female per year and over 169 in a lifetime.
Young snails graze.
A large, cold-tolerant livebearing snail from East Asia, first brought to North America as live food in 1892 and later spread by the aquarium and pond trade; now invasive across North America and recorded in Europe (Netherlands) since 2009.
British zoologist John Edward Gray described this snail in 1833. It was sold in Asian food markets in North America in the 1890s and has since spread widely there.
First described by John E. Gray in 1833.
14 facts checked with sources
Recent rename (MolluscaBase record modified 4 Mar 2026): Zheng et al. 2026 synonymised Cipangopaludina with Margarya, so the valid name is now Margarya chinensis. Laws and most guides still use Cipangopaludina chinensis (the EU Union list does), and older works use Bellamya chinensis. Often confused with the Japanese mystery snail (Heterogen/Cipangopaludina japonica), which is only reliably separated genetically. Not the same as the aquarium "mystery snail" Pomacea diffusa.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Cipangopaludina chinensis (J. E. Gray, 1833), AphiaID 594807 · MolluscaBase/WoRMS source record for Margarya chinensisLegacy has no family.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Margarya chinensis (J. E. Gray, 1833), AphiaID 1872173Shell length. Typically 25-38 mm, up to 65-75 mm; females grow larger than males (max 75 mm vs 48 mm in one Quebec population). Legacy 6 cm fits the upper range.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Chinese mysterysnail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) · Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summary · Pennsylvania Sea Grant (2025): Mystery Snails AIS factsheetNo numeric range found; occurs from cold-temperate to tropical climates.
Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summaryField range 6.5-8.4 (USGS); prefers above 7. Legacy 7-8.5.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Chinese mysterysnail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) · Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summaryCalcium above about 10 ppm (about 1.4 dGH from calcium alone); no dGH range.
Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summaryLegacy 3-5 years agrees.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Chinese mysterysnail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) · Pennsylvania Sea Grant (2025): Mystery Snails AIS factsheetLegacy has no range.
Pennsylvania Sea Grant (2025): Mystery Snails AIS factsheet · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Chinese mysterysnail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) · Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summaryLegacy said not visibly different. The hook-shaped tentacle description is from the closely related C. japonica study.
EDDMapS (Univ. of Georgia): Chinese mystery snail · Shimane University (2006): Masculinization of the right antenna with testicular development in Cipangopaludina japonica (abstract) · Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summaryLegacy 20-100 young; the upper figure is about 102 per brood.
Smithsonian NEMESIS: Cipangopaludina chinensis species summary · EDDMapS (Univ. of Georgia): Chinese mystery snail · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Chinese mysterysnail (Cipangopaludina chinensis)Legacy said restricted in some US states and on EU invasive lists, which agrees. EUR-Lex quote is a fetch-tool reading of the Annex row. State list from EDDMapS "Invasive Listing Sources" (also Idaho, Minnesota, etc.); individual state statutes not read. Not a plant pest, so APHIS PPQ 526 Ampullariidae rule does not apply by name. Transitional rules for existing EU pets not checked.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1422 of 17 July 2025 updating the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (Reg. 1143/2014) · Austrian Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES): Further update of the list of invasive alien species (2025) · Wikipedia: List of invasive alien species of Union concern (cites Reg. (EU) 2025/1422) · EDDMapS (Univ. of Georgia): Chinese mystery snail