Compared to its cousins, the mystery snail or spike-topped apple snail has a pointier tip to its shell and stays smaller at around 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. The shell comes in many colors — like golden yellow, blue, magenta, purple, ivory, chestnut brown, black, and jade green — and the foot can be either light- or dark-colored. These excellent scavengers love to clean up your aquarium by consuming excess fish food, deceased animals, and dead leaves so that they won’t foul the water. If you see your mystery snail “eating” a healthy plant, most likely they are actually nibbling on melted or sickly leaves for you. Some hobbyists find them to be hardier but not as good at algae eating as nerite snails.
They are very active and faster than most snails, so you will find them climbing all over the tank. They have many fascinating behaviors, such as when they extend their long breathing siphon from the left shoulder. They possess both gills and lungs that allow them to breathe while out of water. Holding air in the lungs causes the snails to float, while releasing the air causes them to drop or “parasnail” down to the ground. Thankfully, mystery snails can easily right themselves if they land upside-down, so usually there is no need to help them.