The hitchhiker arrived in the aquarium clinging for dear life to a plant I had bought at the pet store.
I didn't see him at first; then, there he was.
A small mollusk; a dark brown little slimy thing that I promptly dubbed Mr. Slimy.
The tetra didn't seem to mind him; he could go about his business sucking up debris without being disturbed.
It didn't take long until I noticed there was less iron buildup and residue on the walls of the aquarium.
I didn't have to scrub it away weekly when I changed the water.
The next time I bought some plants, I asked for some of the little snails.
They are pests and they will multiply like crazy, warned the salesperson.
How do snails multiply, I wondered.
And then, all of a sudden, there were more and more tiny little snails.
More than I had brought home.
They were moving slowly, elegantly, gracefully around the tank.
Some floated on the underside of the surface of the water! How are they doing that?
Then they would ever so gently descend, floating down from the surface of the water to a safer spot below.
They were a wonder to behold.
I began to enjoy watching them more than the flashy red tetras.
They elongated their bodies out of their tiny shells to move across the surface of their chosen location.
Tiny tentacles from their heads reached out as if to test the environment.
They could release themselves from their shell as far as possible, only to retreat back into it at a moment's notice.
The first snail, Mr. Slimy, disappeared one day.
He was so large, how could have have just disappeared?
I still have not discovered what happened to him.
But I have noticed that the filters are now covered with a slimy substance, when they weren't before.
Do snails secrete mucuous?
You bet they do.
When cleaning the plastic filter cartridge the other day, I discovered how snails multiply; they lay egg sacs!
The plastic filter cartridge had several small, roundish blobs of globby, slimy egg sacs.
I wiped them off with a paper towel.
Not sure if they would "hatch" or whatever they do anyway, but I didn't want to take any chances.
Research found these are likely called Pond Snails; indeed considered a pest, but oh, what a beautiful little pest.
The way they so delicately sop up detritus and whatever else it is they eat, is beautiful to behold.
I find them so fascinating, that an offering of escargot on a recent menu was offputting; I pictured poor Mr. Slimy boiled alive and then smothered with garlic cream sauce.
It doesn't help that the colours purple and indigo were originally, reportedly, discovered being secreted by mollusks eons ago, which were then boiled in order to harvest the royal tints.
Now, even the thought of oysters, conch, and mussels is giving me the heaves.
Those little chunks of literal muscle eaten alive is horrifying.
These little interlopers have opened up a whole new world in the aquariums for me.
A precious understanding and appreciation of the lowly mollusk.
I had always been amazed to see the little garden snails on a leaf after a rain or a morning dew.
Distant relatives I am sure, these pond snails offer a unique glimpse into the secret lives of these little creatures who carry their own homes on their backs, ready to retreat into them at a moment's notice.
And I shall be watching them with awe.