On 16 Jun 99, at 12:23, NORA BRYAN wrote:

> I have some questions about a freshwater snail sold in pet shops as a
> Mystery Snail and it occurred to me that I could probably find out
> something about these snails from the expert gardeners here in Calgary
> AND the many conchological and malacological experts on CONCH-L whose
> information has been so valuable to me over the last year- so I thought
> I'd post my questions to both groups of experts simultaneously!  It's
> amazing how different hobbies (shell-collecting and gardening) can
> converge.
> 1.  Does anyone know anything about these snails - where they come from
> etc - I didn't get a chance to really examine them, but they are on the
> large side, over an inch high, rounded with a large body whorl and
> apparently come in several shells colours - "blue", brown and even
> albino. I would imagine that here in Calgary there is no danger of them
> becoming a menace to indiginous species.
> 2.  I have been told that they are suitable for ponds here in Calgary
> and that they would be effective algae eaters. Since I will need to
> empty the pond in the fall, could they be overwintered indoors in an
> aquarium or tub along with the goldfish?
> Any advice or information from gardeners and freshwater snail
> enthusiasts would be very welcome!
>
Hallo Nora and others,
as far as I know Stijn Ghesquiere offers very good informations
about this "apple snails" under his web page

                 http://huizen.dds.nl/~snc/main.htm

Thomas Loeffler
Goettingen, Germany