The Gold Inca Snail is a popular aquarium inhabitant, known for its striking golden-yellow shell. This snail is a color variation of the Mystery Snail, scientifically identified as Pomacea bridgesii (or often Pomacea diffusa in the aquarium trade). Gold Inca Snails are definitively sexual, requiring a male and a female to breed. They are not capable of asexual reproduction or self-fertilization.
Gold Inca Snails Are Sexual (Dioecious)
The Gold Inca Snail is dioecious, meaning the species maintains separate sexes—an individual is exclusively male or exclusively female for its entire life. This reproductive strategy is unusual in the broader world of snails, where many species are hermaphroditic. Hermaphroditic snails, such as Ramshorn or Bladder Snails, possess both male and female reproductive organs and are capable of self-fertilization.
Because they are sexual, a single snail will not produce fertile eggs unless the female has previously mated and stored sperm. Females of this species can store sperm for extended periods, sometimes for several months. This capacity allows the female to lay multiple clutches of fertile eggs long after a single mating event has occurred.
Identifying the Sex of Your Snail
Determining the sex of a Gold Inca Snail requires a close look at the anatomy within the mantle cavity near the shell opening. The most reliable method involves observing the snail when it is active, often by encouraging it to crawl near the tank glass. When the snail extends its body, inspect the right side of the mantle cavity, located just behind the head.
A male snail will have a visible organ called the penis sheath, which appears as a white, fleshy structure tucked into the cavity. In contrast, the female will have only a clean opening, with no visible organ filling the space.
Observing mating behavior can also serve as an indicator, as the male consistently attempts to mount and climb onto the female’s shell to initiate copulation.
Mating and Egg Clutch Characteristics
Reproduction begins with a mating session where the male mounts the female’s shell for internal fertilization, a process that can sometimes last for several hours. A distinguishing feature of the Gold Inca Snail is that the female must leave the water to deposit her eggs.
She will crawl above the waterline, often onto the aquarium hood or side glass, to lay a cluster of eggs. The resulting egg clutch is firm, looks porous or Styrofoam-like, and typically displays a vibrant pink or coral color. A single clutch can contain up to several hundred eggs.
The eggs must remain above the water but in a humid environment to incubate successfully, a process that usually takes two to four weeks at typical aquarium temperatures.