Thanks for the information.  So,  apple snails and mystery snails the same
thing,  - species of Pomacea? Because of the sub-zero temperatures here in winter
there is nothing, including most plants that will survive in my pond over
winter.  In fact since the pond is plastic, I have to empty it in the fall or it
will freeze solid and crack.  So there is no danger of any potential escapees
doing any damage to the environment.  I think they will live happily during the
summer in my pond since the water will remain over sixty degrees, and in the
winter I will bring them in the house if they are still alive.  Hopefully they
will only eat algae and not my pond plants.

[log in to unmask] wrote:

> Ampullaria is not a valid Genus name according to Fred Thompson in his book,
> Freshwater Snails of Florida. The apple snails commonly sold in stores are
> usually the South American Pomacea bridgesi and P. caniculata and not both
> are now found in the wild in parts of South Florida. I would not suggest
> putting any non-native species into these ponds (this is the way the P.
> bridgesi and P. caniculata got into the waters of south florida). In addition
> I'm not sure they would make it due to the cold since these are tropical
> snails.