Spixi snail (Asolene spixii) care guide

Group

Snails

Other names

Zebra apple snail, Spixi apple snail, Ampullaria spixii, Ampullaria zonata

Family

Ampullariidae

Origin

South America

Water

freshwater

Care level

beginner

Care

The Spixi snail is a small South American apple snail, named after the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix and originally described as Ampullaria spixii. It belongs to the apple snail family, Ampullariidae, but to the genus Asolene rather than Pomacea. In the hobby it is known for its rounded shell banded in dark brown and cream or yellow, which earns it the name zebra apple snail. Our sources have little on this species; the figures are general guidance, not from a source. It is a small apple snail, usually a few centimetres across, kept in ordinary tropical community conditions with hard, neutral to alkaline water to keep its shell strong. It is peaceful with fish and plants, spends much of its time buried in the substrate or browsing on the bottom, and is most active at dusk and at night. A soft sand or fine gravel substrate suits it. Unlike many apple snails, the Spixi is known among keepers to eat the eggs of other snails and sometimes small snails, so it is occasionally used to keep pest snails in check. Do not keep it with snails you want to breed. It is not a Pomacea species, so it is not covered by the EU ban on Pomacea apple snails, but treat it with the same caution: check current rules before buying or selling, never release it, and never put it in a garden pond. Copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most invertebrates. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asolenespixii). Checked October 2026.

Diet

General guidance, not from a source: an omnivorous scavenger that eats leftover fish food, sinking pellets, algae wafers, blanched vegetables and detritus, and is known to eat snail eggs. Feed sinking foods so some reaches it, and add a calcium source if the water is soft.

Breeding

General hobby knowledge, not from a source: sexes are separate and it lays its eggs underwater in a jelly-like clutch on the substrate or hardscape, unlike the pink or white above-water clutches of Pomacea. The young hatch as tiny snails and grow on easily in a community tank.

Compatibility and tank mates

Safe with plants, fish and shrimp, though it may eat dead or weak animals. It can eat the eggs and young of other snails, which is a nuisance in a breeding set-up but useful for controlling pest snails. Avoid puffers, large loaches and other snail-eaters.

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