The Black Japanese Trapdoor Snail (Viviparis Malleatus) 

Black Japanese Trapdoor Snail

Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails (Viviparis malleatus) are the preferred species of snail for recreational and professional pond and water gardeners world-wide. Algae Eating Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails are one of the few snail varieties that can over-winter well and survive in harsher northern climates.

Algae Eating Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails are a great asset in helping keep algae under control in your pond and water garden as they groom your plants, planting-pots and water garden rocks and walls.

Algae Eating Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails will tend to the ponds bottom, consuming any decaying matter such as leaves, excess fish food, and even fish waste. Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails are live-bearing; they only breed a couple of times a year and will not take over your pond like other nuisance egg bearing snails.

In order for your Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails to have a positive effect on algae growth, a minimum of 10 snails per 50 sq. feet will be needed, and farm ponds will need to have at least 200 Algae Eating Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails per acre to have any effect. Baby Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails are great forage for many pan-fish and catfish species.

  • cannot be shipped to AK, CA, HI, PR, or Canada.
  • Keeps Algae Under Control
  • Non-Invasive Compared to Egg Laying Snails
  • Promotes a Balanced Ecosystem

How To Buy Black Japanese Trapdoor Snails

Smith Creek Fish Farm is centrally located in Western New York about an hour's drive from Buffalo and Rochester.  The hatchery and retail pond supply outlet have seasonal hours for fish pickup and walk-in customers. Our expert fish packers will oxygen bag your fish for easy, safe, and stress-free transport. 

We do suggest bringing coolers or totes to hold your bagged fish.  Truck delivery of trout, game fish, and forage is available in the WNY area when orders meet our delivery minimums. We also safely ship, by UPS Next Day Air, many of our fish species including triploid grass carp and crayfish

Unfortunately, we ONLY ship fish to New York addresses.  All of our fish are 2024 NY DEC certified disease-free and have been for more than 10 years.

Current Availability 

You can view our current availability and hours here. We also update our stocklist on Facebook regularly. Like our page below to keep up to date.
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