Photo License Apple Snails (Pomacea bridgesii) are a popular aquarium pet because of their big size, appearance and they don't multiply easily. They can get as big as a baseball. They are the biggest freshwater snail on earth. They come in different colors from brown, white, yellow to almost blue.

Mystery Snails look similar to the Apple snail, but don't grow to their large size. They also are popular because of their appearance and they don't multiply easily. They eat algae and fish food and usually won't harm your aquarium plants unless they are starving. They will eat fish eggs. Keep them away from nippy fish that would harm them. Never release Apple or Mystery snails in local ponds or rivers as they can cause harm.

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Mystery Snails look similar to the Apple snail, but don't get their large size. They also are popular because of their appearance and don't multiply easily.

And yes I do know how to raise them but don't want to give out the secret. Someday I might want to do it again. I accidentally found out when I was raising guppies and was using certain equipment to enhance my baby guppy tank. When the baby snails got to the size of a marble I would sell them to the local pet store for about 50 cents each.

All the places I have found on the Internet about the breeding of these is to just let the water level down enough so that they can lay eggs on the glass of the tank. However I never saw this happen. The water level would get low and they did not lay eggs. It was an accidental discovery that gave me the information and led me to be able to raise them.

I used to have several aquariums and had mystery snails in all of them. These snails are really popular because they don't multiply because they need special conditions to lay eggs. Most other types of snails will multiply and take over your fish tank so these are the kind you see in most pet shops. They came in many colors from black to orange.

The apple snails can get really big as large as a baseball or an apple and are the largest in the world. They also come in several colors from white to blue. See photo. Both of these snails eat whatever they find on the bottom of your fish tank. They help keep it clean by eating the extra fish food and algae. However they will eat fish eggs so don't use them in aquariums where you are raising egg-laying fish.

Remember to never release these out in the wild. You never know how they will do especially without any natural predators. They could take over a water way and hurt the local creatures.

Susan Dietel
Web Programmer
Email: susansdesign@yahoo.com