my flying snails

[0rion]

my lfs gave me numerous tiny snails to clean up some algae i was getting.
i'm not sure of the species but they're no more than half a centimeter long
at the largest.


once in a while i'll look into the tank and see a snail literally floating
in mid-water without moving... current and passing fish be damned. it's
tethered by a long string of mucous that is invisible due to it's index of
refraction and totally clear nature. the poor snail writhes around looking
for something to grab onto until a merciful fish passes too close and slices
the mucous tether, letting the snail balloon up to the surface and find a
tank-wall to climb on.



anyone else seen this? first time i saw it i thought the little ******* was
a regular david copperfield, dangling without any visible lines or riccia in
sight.

[Donald Kerns]

0rion wrote:

> once in a while i'll look into the tank and see a snail literally
> floating in mid-water without moving... current and passing fish be
> damned. it's tethered by a long string of mucous that is invisible due
> to it's index of refraction and totally clear nature. the poor snail
> writhes around looking for something to grab onto until a merciful
> fish passes too close and slices the mucous tether, letting the snail
> balloon up to the surface and find a tank-wall to climb on.
>
> anyone else seen this?

I've had apple snails that would "jump" from the top and "sail" down to
the bottom. Since they would do it repeatedly and immediately in a row,
I have to believe that it was [whatever passes for "intentional" in a
snail's little brain.]

-D
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Donald,

they're messy little gits too aren't they!

[RedForeman ©®]

Mine are usually cleaning up the protein layer on the top of the water,
weird, but it works...

"0rion" > wrote in message
...
> my lfs gave me numerous tiny snails to clean up some algae i was getting.
> i'm not sure of the species but they're no more than half a centimeter
long
> at the largest.
>
>
> once in a while i'll look into the tank and see a snail literally floating
> in mid-water without moving... current and passing fish be damned. it's
> tethered by a long string of mucous that is invisible due to it's index of
> refraction and totally clear nature. the poor snail writhes around looking
> for something to grab onto until a merciful fish passes too close and
slices
> the mucous tether, letting the snail balloon up to the surface and find a
> tank-wall to climb on.
>
>
>
> anyone else seen this? first time i saw it i thought the little *******
was
> a regular david copperfield, dangling without any visible lines or riccia
in
> sight.
>
>

[Lady Samsara]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message >...
> Mine are usually cleaning up the protein layer on the top of the water,
> weird, but it works...
>
> "0rion" > wrote in message
> ...
> > my lfs gave me numerous tiny snails to clean up some algae i was getting.
> > i'm not sure of the species but they're no more than half a centimeter
> long
> > at the largest.
> >
> >
> > once in a while i'll look into the tank and see a snail literally floating
> > in mid-water without moving... current and passing fish be damned. it's
> > tethered by a long string of mucous that is invisible due to it's index of
> > refraction and totally clear nature. the poor snail writhes around looking
> > for something to grab onto until a merciful fish passes too close and
> slices
> > the mucous tether, letting the snail balloon up to the surface and find a
> > tank-wall to climb on.
> >
> >
> >
> > anyone else seen this? first time i saw it i thought the little *******
> was
> > a regular david copperfield, dangling without any visible lines or riccia
> in
> > sight.
> >
> >
I have a huge Apple snail and he does the very same thing, though I
have never seen the mucous trail on him. I'm not sure if they can
fill up with air or something to float, but it seems so, as I see
bubbles coming out of his shell when he does this. He will glide
across the tank, current taking him afloat, and then crash-land at the
bottom. Sometimes to make the game more interesting, he will grab just
a shred of a plant and stable himself, only to keep motoring on. As
Donald said, it must be intentional because he does it over and over.
I must say, he is probably my favorite in the tank, his antics keep me
entertained all the time. Silly snails! :)

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Lady Samsara wrote:
> I have a huge Apple snail and he does the very same thing, though I
> have never seen the mucous trail on him. I'm not sure if they can
> fill up with air or something to float, but it seems so, as I see
> bubbles coming out of his shell when he does this. He will glide
> across the tank, current taking him afloat, and then crash-land at the
> bottom. Sometimes to make the game more interesting, he will grab just
> a shred of a plant and stable himself, only to keep motoring on. As
> Donald said, it must be intentional because he does it over and over.
> I must say, he is probably my favorite in the tank, his antics keep me
> entertained all the time. Silly snails! :)

Remember - snails do breath, through either their lungs or their gills
(depending if they are in water or not)