2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful with fish, but a heavy plant eater.
435 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful with fish, but a heavy plant eater.
Check your local laws. EU: the whole genus Pomacea is a Union quarantine pest (Implementing Reg. (EU) 2019/2072, Annex II Part B); introducing it into or moving it within the EU is prohibited. The 2012 ban (Decision 2012/697/EU) was replaced by Implementing Reg. (EU) 2024/2013, applying from 26 Jan 2025. Great Britain removed Pomacea from its quarantine list in 2021, so apple snails may be sold there again, but not in Northern Ireland. US (federal): USDA APHIS bars import and interstate movement of Ampullariidae (except P. diffusa) except into an APHIS-inspected research containment facility. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Banned in many countries as an invasive species.
Vegetables and algae wafers.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Separate sexes. Males have a large penis sheath visible in the right side of the mantle cavity; the operculum also differs (evenly concave in females, unevenly in males). Females grow larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-laying above water · Easy
Females lay bright pink egg clutches above the waterline on plants, rocks or structures; eggs die if kept under water. Females store sperm.
Any two.
Tank with an air gap.
Warm water.
Very large pink clutches of roughly 1,500-2,100 eggs (sometimes over 2,000), each egg 1-2 mm; the clutch hatches in about 10-14 days.
Young snails fall into the water.
A giant apple snail whose shell can reach 15 cm. It is invasive in the south-eastern USA, Puerto Rico, South-East Asia and Spain's Ebro Delta, where its 2009 discovery led to the EU-wide ban on all Pomacea in 2012.
British naturalist George Perry described this snail in 1810. It is one of the largest apple snails and was long confused with the channeled apple snail.
First described by George Perry in 1810.
15 facts checked with sources
Since Hayes et al. (2012) P. insularum (island apple snail) and P. gigas are synonyms of P. maculata, so older literature and shops may use those names. Often misidentified as P. canaliculata; US and Asian records first called canaliculata were later shown genetically to be P. maculata. Applesnail.net's separate "P. maculata" page predates the synonymy (it describes green eggs) and should not be used for the invasive snail.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Pomacea maculata G. Perry, 1810, AphiaID 737473 · Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Legacy has no family.
MolluscaBase (via WoRMS): Pomacea maculata G. Perry, 1810, AphiaID 737473Shell height. Maximum up to 15 cm (6 in); a hobby keeper reports adults of 7-9 cm. size-pick: 15 cm is a maximum; typical captive adults are likely nearer 7-10 cm (legacy 10). No aquarium-specific maximum found.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: giant applesnail (Pomacea maculata) · Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS) · Applesnail.net: Pomacea insularum (now a synonym of P. maculata)Family-level aquarium guidance 18-28 °C; lab tolerance 15-37 °C (Byers et al. 2013 via Wikipedia).
Applesnail.net: general apple snail care guide (genus/family-level, not species-specific) · Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS) · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: giant applesnail (Pomacea maculata)Family-level guidance pH 7 or higher; lab tolerance 3.5-10.5.
Applesnail.net: general apple snail care guide (genus/family-level, not species-specific) · Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Qualitative only.
Applesnail.net: general apple snail care guide (genus/family-level, not species-specific)No litre figure for this species; one keeper advises a very high air gap because females leave the water to spawn.
Applesnail.net: general apple snail care guide (genus/family-level, not species-specific) · Applesnail.net: Pomacea insularum (now a synonym of P. maculata)Only "longer lifespan" than P. paludosa; no figure.
Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Single keeper comment; not rated.
Applesnail.net: Pomacea insularum (now a synonym of P. maculata)Legacy has no range.
Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Penis-sheath method is the family-level applesnail.net method.
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: giant applesnail (Pomacea maculata) · Applesnail.net: apple snail reproductive system · Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Legacy "hundreds" undercounts; clutches are far larger than in P. canaliculata, which helps tell the two apart.
Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS) · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: giant applesnail (Pomacea maculata)Legacy wording agrees.
Wikipedia: Pomacea maculata (cites Hayes et al. 2012, Rawlings et al. 2007, Byers et al. 2013, USFWS ERSS)Same rules as for P. canaliculata (genus/family-level). Pomacea is regulated in the EU as a plant pest (Reg. 2016/2031), not under the invasive-species Regulation 1143/2014; no Pomacea species is on the Union list of invasive alien species. Australia and individual US state rules were not checked.
Commission Implementing Decision 2012/697/EU of 8 November 2012 (genus Pomacea), as adopted (legislation.gov.uk copy) · UNEP LEAP: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2013 on Pomacea (Perry), repealing Implementing Decision 2012/697/EU · umwelt-online: Durchführungsverordnung (EU) 2024/2013 (German text, recitals) · Julius Kühn-Institut (German federal plant health institute): Pomacea plant-health datasheet (10/2024) · OATA (Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association), 28 May 2021: Apple snails can return to GB aquariums after restriction lifts · USDA APHIS: Snails and Slugs (PPQ 526 plant pest permits; page last modified 31 Aug 2026)