- Black Japanese Trapdoor Pond Snails -
   Will Survive Harsh Winter Climates in Ice Covered Ponds!  
These snails give live birth, and are not egg layers that overwhelm your pond.
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(Viviparis malleatus)
Close to Actual Size We Ship

Order according to the size of watergarden or pond you have. For ponds and watergardens use at least 1 snail per 3 square feet of pond space. For snails to have a positive effect on algae growth you should have 20 for small watergardens and 50 or more for larger watergardens. Farm ponds should have at least 200 to have any positive effect.

Algae's Worst Nightmare!
ADULT ALGAE EATING JAPANESE TRAPDOOR SNAIL

When your snails breed and give live birth (perhaps twice a year) pick the tender baby snails out of the pond and rear them in an aquarium if you want to save them. Koi and other creatures find the tiny snails to be a great treat. Once they grow to an inch or so you can release them back into your pond or watergarden.

DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS:
Open the bag of snails and let the bag fill about 1/2 with pond water. Float or hold the bag for a few minutes and then let them into pond water after they adjust to the temperature change. They are not happy campers when they arrive! They will appear lifeless from the shock of shipping like a scared turtle in a shell. They will have some algae attached to their shells as they are grown in algae rich ponds. One or two may get a cracked shell during delivery as they get bounced around like little ping pong balls, but they will mend. We cannot guarantee live delivery on each and every one of the snails due to shipping conditions out of our control.

We ship healthy and active live snails. When the weather is hot we strongly suggest you upgrade to one of our shipping options below. We do everything in our control to get them to you in good condition.   - - -

ALIVE OR DEAD? If the trapdoor is in place, and the meat is in the shell, the snail is alive. The only true test of a dead snail is an empty shell with no meat in it. The very nature of snails can lead a person to believe they are dead. Just like a turtle they suck everything in and play dead. If they float, they are not dead as long as the meat is in the shell. They somehow got air trapped in the shells and will work it out. However some snails have a tough time getting the air out. Some people mistakenly interpret floating snails as dead snails. This is not the case at all. Have patience and in a few days they will work the air out.

RACCOONS: If you have raccoons that visit your pond they may eat them. Most county animal control offices have traps you can use to relocate the raccoons. It is not unusual for raccoons to live in the middle of very larges cities. I have seen raccoons live inside city storm drains during the day and come out of the steel curb drains at night to feed.

WHERE DID THE SNAILS GO? We sometimes get email from people who put snails in their pond and in a few days cannot see them after they disperse. The fast answer to this is that the snails are still in your pond and you cannot see them. They are almost impossible to spot as they are the same color as the rocks and gravel. One way to check is to get a fishing pole and put a lettuce leaf on the hook and lay it on the pond bottom. Come back in an hour or two and you should have snails at the lettuce.