Great pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) care guide

Group

Snails

Other names

Pond snail, Limnaea stagnalis, Lymnaea

Family

Lymnaeidae

Origin

Temperate North America, Europe (including Britain) and Asia, in ponds, lakes and slow rivers

Water

freshwater

Maximum size

6 cm

Temperature

4–22°C

pH

7–8.5

Hardness

10–20 dGH, 6–12 dKH

Minimum tank

40 litres

Care level

beginner

Lifespan

1–2 years

Care

The great pond snail is the largest pond snail in Britain, with a light to dark brown, sharply pointed shell usually 4.5–6 cm tall and 2–3 cm wide, and rarely 7 cm. The last whorl swells suddenly into a wide mouth. It lives in ponds, lakes and very slow rivers with plenty of water plants across the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Young snails can be mistaken for bladder snails (Physa); the wandering snail (Radix) is smaller. UK native: The great pond snail is native to Britain. It needs a coldwater (unheated) tank or a pond, and should not be collected from the wild where that is not allowed, such as nature reserves or private waters without permission. Set-up: a coldwater tank, garden pond or wildlife pond suits it. It breathes air at the surface. The temperature and water figures here are general guidance, not from a source; hard, alkaline water helps the shell. Plants and role: it eats algae and decaying matter but also grazes soft plants, so it is not suited to a planted aquarium. In ponds it helps clean up dead leaves and algae. Health: wild pond snails host many parasitic flatworms (flukes), some of which can infect fish. Quarantine wild-caught snails and do not move snails between ponds. Copper: copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most other invertebrates. Never treat a tank holding them with copper, check the label of any fertiliser or medicine, and keep nets and buckets used for copper-treated tanks separate. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymnaeastagnalis). Checked October 2026.

Diet

An omnivore. It eats algae, plants, decaying leaves (maple and oak), vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and dandelion leaves, fish food, and even Hydra and the eggs of other snails.

Breeding

A simultaneous hermaphrodite: each snail can act as male or female, but one role at a time when mating. It prefers new partners and breeds more in larger groups. It lays sausage-shaped jelly masses of eggs on plants and stones, and the young hatch as tiny snails. It breeds readily and can become numerous.

Compatibility and tank mates

Fine with coldwater fish such as goldfish and minnows, though large fish may pick at it. It eats soft plants and the eggs of other snails. Do not keep it in tropical tanks.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.