Curious Pond Snail Behaviour 1/7/12
Hello great WWM folks. I just want to say thanks in advance for reading this email!
<Welcome>
I currently have a 10 gallon cycled tank. All parametres are fine as per my last testing, and I do partial water changes once a week to once every 10 days.  I had in my tank 3 zebra Danios, and a little hitch hiker pond snail that came along as a tiny baby on a live plant I bought back in the summer.
Things have been good all along and after my tank finally stabilized, and I was sure it was cycled thoroughly, I decided to add a few more fish in there. I came home with 2 black swordtails,
<Mmm, Swords need more room than a ten gallon>
2 red wag tail platys, and a rock shrimp.
<May eat your snail>
 This was about 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, the platys which had just arrived at the fish store that day turned out to all have Ich and as soon as I realized one was acting weird, I segregated it from the rest of the tank, and sure enough it got the spots a few days later. Yes, I realize I should have quarantined the fish first, my mistake. Now, I have gone through Ich before and it took a long time for my tank to recover from the treatment so I am being a bit stubborn about treating the whole tank.
I suffered through a lot of problems early on and don't want to wipe out all the good bacteria that has formed in my tank, not to mention, I now have invertebrates in there to consider.
<Ah yes>
Long story short, I got rid of both platys an the rest of the fish seem to be fine now. I know the Ich could still spring up, but so far so good for now. The problem is that my snail seems to be acting strange. It always used to be out and about before, and the last few days, I don't see it anymore.
I know they are typically more active at night, but this little guy would be visible during the day a lot and now it just kind of hides. I took a flashlight and saw it in the roots of my java fern just kind of sitting there and when I poked it, it didn't move. I tried to pick it up with my tongs and put it down on the gravel and it came out and started moving.
However, it just went back under the long the plant is attached to and I didn't see it again for another couple of days. I went looking for it again today, and I see it stuck on the glass near the bottom of the tank but it is all inside the shell and hasn't moved in hours. Is this normal? I am entertaining a few ideas here.
<Depends on the species... some do slow down during the cold times of the year... But it might be bothered by the shrimp>
1.) It is going into a period of dormancy I have read about in my research on the subject;
<Possibly... is this a Pomacea sp.?>
2.) It is stressed because of the new additions to the tank and it is unhappy;
<Might...>
3.) It is sick, or dying although I'm not sure why since I have also read inverts don't get Ich, and nothing else has changed in the tank aside from the Ich and new fish.
4.) Tank temp too hot? I wouldn't think this would be it since it is only at 79, which is a degree higher than normal.
<I'd keep this in the low 70's F for all you've listed, unless you're using elevated temperature as a treatment>
Is there anything I can do to see if I can bring about a change?
<The above>
Also, I am curious as to why this snail hasn't had any babies yet.
<It may not be a monoecious species... i.e. it may take two to tango>
 I have had it since the summer, and from what I have read, pond snails are pests in the tank because they procreate too much.
<... again... what species? Physa?>
 It's kind of strange that it hasn't (though I'm not complaining!) and I am pretty sure this is the species I have based on all the pictures I have looked up on the internet.
<May be too hot to reproduce>
Anyways, thank you again for taking the time to read this. I hope you have a wonderful weekend coming up!
Sincerely,
Sylvia
<And you, Bob Fenner>
Re: Curious Pond Snail Behaviour   1/8/12
Hi Bob, thanks for the quick reply!
<Welcome Syl>
Today, I saw that my snail had moved from its position on the glass and is here and there in the tank. At least that means it is still alive. From what I see thus far, the rock shrimp doesn't seem to be bothered with the snail as I have never seen it anywhere near the snail. That is not to say it doesn't bother the snail when I am not looking, of course. That said, I was told at the pet store that the shrimp would not bother the snail. I know, I know, fish stores say a lot of things not necessarily true...
<Happens>
As for the sword tails, I suspect you are right! I see that there is way too much poop coming out of these creatures and that while they are small in size, their output may be too much for the water quality in my tank. I used to be able to get away with water changes ever 10 days or so but now, the water is constantly full of turds floating around, and I thought the rock shrimp was supposed to be a clean up crew but some of its excrements are several inches long! Not sure I am liking all this.
I originally kept my tank at 78 because I had a Betta in there. Since there is no longer that concern, I will slowly decrease the temperature. That said, I hope the lower temperature won't encourage the snail to get busy so to speak. As for species, I have no clue but I am guessing it is a pond snail by all the pictures I looked up.
<This does appear to be a Physa species... often called pond snails>
 I did capture some shots of it in my tank and attached one in this email. Hopefully you can identify it. Maybe it is not what I thought and would explain that it doesn't reproduce asexually.
<Mmm, these snails are hermaphroditic... perhaps yours will be active in this sense as well w/ lowered temp.>
Again, thanks for taking the time here and I will see if I can get the pet store to take back these sword tails. I'll try for something more suitable to my tank size, and quarantine them first this time around!
Sylvia
<Thank you for this follow-up. BobF>