Habitat:

            The Banded Mystery Snail is typically present in stationary or slow-moving freshwater bodies because these are nutrient rich environments. Viviparus georgianus prefers mud, sand, and detritus-littered substrates along the edge or towards the bottom of water systems, depending on the season. From spring to fall, the Banded Mystery Snail spends most of its time towards the shore for breeding purposes, and from fall to winter, it moves out to the deeper benthic zones to prevent freezing and to find food. (Kipp and Benson, 2011)
 
             Viviparus georgianus inhabits the Southeastern United States along with the Mississippi and St. Lawrence River systems (Dillon, 2006). However, it is native to Florida and Georgia and has invaded the Northeastern states (Kipp and Benson, 2009). The Banded Mystery Snail, along with other invasive gastropods, is being linked to ecosystem disruption in nonnative habitats. Large numbers of water fowl deaths in the Upper Midwest are occurring due to infections by trematode worms. Viviparus georgianus is being linked to the infection because it is believed to be an intermediate host to this parasitic worm. (Dillon, 2006)
 
            Despite this traumatic environmental impact, Viviparus georgianus fulfills an important ecological niche. The Banded Mystery Snail has a large variety of feeding methods. It is a grazer and filter-feeder that consumes filamentous algae, diatoms, and suspended organic material (Jokinen et. al, 1982) It will occasionally eat fish eggs and decaying matter (Jokinen et. al, 1982). During the spring and summer, it finds protection under macrophytes, which are water plants that can be either floating or submerged (Kipp and Benson, 2010). Other organisms that coexist with this snail include mussels and clams that filter-feed and compete for suspended organic material (Martin Kohl). Viviparus georgianus provides food for organisms such as turtles, fish, birds, and crayfish (Jokinen et. al, 1982). In addition, it is a host for parasitic organisms such as annelid worms, protozoans, and trematode larvae (Kipp and Benson, 2011).