Pagoda Snail

About

Buy this one for the shell, not for the population. Brotia pagodula is a freshwater snail in the family Pachychilidae and the type species of Brotia; Wikipedia lists three common names - porcupine snail, pagoda snail and horned armour snail - and records it from Myanmar and Thailand. MolluscaBase flags it freshwater only, striking out marine, brackish and terrestrial on its taxon page. Aquarium Glaser call it endemic to the Moei, the border river between Myanmar and Thailand, and give the shell as 4-5 cm long; the Shrimp and Snail Breeder care sheet puts adults at 3-5 cm and traces the species to the Thoungyin, which is the same river under its other name, a tributary of the Salween. The shell is the whole appeal and the whole problem. It is a thick, tightly coiled cone carrying a spiral row of long pointed spines, and its spire is decollated - the apex is eroded away - so what you buy is already a shell that has lost its tip and will not rebuild it. Acid water eats the rest. Aquarium Glaser are explicit that 'a pH value below 7 is not tolerated in the long term' and ask for 7.5-8.5, and the Shrimp and Snail Breeder sheet warns that shell deterioration, usually as tiny holes, is common and that the water must not be acidic. The spines are a hazard of their own: the same sheet advises clearing out tight crevices and branch forks, because a pagoda snail can jam its shell in one and die of stress there. On breeding, the answer is the one a buyer actually needs. Yes, it reproduces in fresh water - Brotia are viviparous, Aquarium Glaser confirm it, and the Shrimp and Snail Breeder sheet describes females carrying fully shelled 4 mm juveniles in a brood pouch that sits dorsally in the neck region - so there is no marine larval stage to defeat you the way there is with a nerite. But no, it will not take over the tank: that sheet rates breeding 'Difficult. Slow', at 10-20 young a year and usually one to three at a time. Its own comment thread then contains a shopkeeper reporting 57 identical babies from one female in a single day, and the author answering that a female simply drops a whole litter at once. Read the pair together as: it happens, it is uncommon, and nobody in the hobby has it pinned down.

Care

River water, not still water. The Shrimp and Snail Breeder sheet is emphatic that this is a fast-flowing river animal that needs a strongly oxygenated tank and a pump keeping a current moving all the time, and that this is why some of these snails live years rather than months; it asks for a tank 60-80 cm long, with 40 litres the absolute minimum. Keep the pH above 7 - 7.5-8.5 per Aquarium Glaser - with a decent GH and KH for the shell, hold 23-26 C, and avoid sudden temperature swings. Sand or fine grain to sift, rocks and wood to graze, dim light, and no tight crevices the spined shell can wedge into. Feed it deliberately, because algae and biofilm run out in a clean tank, and supplement calcium. Copper-sensitive like every snail, so check fertilisers and fish medications. The two published accounts disagree about plants: Aquarium Glaser state flatly that 'Live aquatic plants are not touched', while the Shrimp and Snail Breeder sheet says a hungry one will graze them and tells you to feed daily 'if you don't want them to eat all the plants'. Feed it properly and the question largely goes away. Those two are also the only husbandry sources that exist for the species - one wholesaler's stock page and one hobby care sheet, disagreeing about plants, temperature and lifespan - which is why this entry is rated medium confidence.

Diet

Algae, biofilm and detritus grazer with a large appetite. Algae wafers and sinking tablets, blanched vegetables, and scalded dandelion, chickweed or unsprayed lettuce, plus a calcium supplement for the shell. Do not overfeed - it fouls the water fast.

Telling males from females

There is no reliable way to sex this species by eye. That is the honest answer, not a gap in our data.

Also in these lists

Similar species

Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.

Sold in Lithuania

These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.

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Frequently asked questions

What tank size does a Pagoda Snail need?

A Pagoda Snail needs an aquarium of at least 60 litres (15.9 US gallons) with a footprint at least 60 cm (23.6 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Pagoda Snail need?

Pagoda Snail does best at 20–28 °C (68–82.4 °F), pH 7–8.5 and a general hardness of 6–20 °dGH.

Is the Pagoda Snail suitable for beginners?

Pagoda Snail sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.

Sources

• MolluscaBase — Brotia pagodula (A. A. Gould, 1847)
• Wikipedia — Brotia pagodula
• Aquarium Glaser — Brotia pagodula
• Shrimp and Snail Breeder — Brotia Pagodula Snail: Care, Diet and Breeding