Invader!

[Kwomais]

So I setup my temporary bowl with a live plant about 3 or 4 weeks ago. At that time I thought I saw a little hitchhiker on the plant, but once in the bowl (with rocks) I never saw it again and so thought nothing of it. Skip ahead to today, one week after placing Alpha in his temporary bowl (until my boyfriend finds the 5gal that's in storage in his crawlspace). I was staring at the bowl and I noticed this spec on the far side of the glass... and it was moving, FAST. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be some sort of snail, about 1mm wide/round by about 1.5-2mm tall. It has a pointyish shell that is dark grey or brown with a broad white stripe around the middle and the snails body/flesh appears to by a pinkey-purpley red. As I type, it is currently attached to the glass, above the waterline of the bowl (thankfully I have a lid of sorts).

So here are my questions:
1) What the heck IS it!?
2) am I going to end up wit a bajillion of these things? I heard that snails can be asexual and, while I don't mind re-homing snails, I don't really want all that responsibility and I am not well equipped to deal with such a situation.
3) Is it going to be ok with my Alpha? He swam over to it while it was traveling across the glass (at a speed of about 1.5cm/sec) and poked at it, but it flared up a bit & he freaked out and swam off to his cave (Alpha, I am learning, is a bit of a wuss).
4) Also, would it be ok if I got a ghost or cherry shrimp to go with Alpha when he moves into his 5gal or would a shrimp "clean" it away?

It's kinda of a cute little devil and I was thinking of calling it Gary... or Boo, Boo is also an option (from Monsters' Inc.).

[ChoclateBetta]

Like this?

[Kwomais]

It could be... at the moments it's difficult to tell as it's so small. I'll see if I can get a good picture for you.

[Kwomais]

Here are link to 2 shots I took with a metric ruler for reference of size. (the images are large)
http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/...psb7724d15.jpg
http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b984e4c.jpg

[ChoclateBetta]

Phusella Acuita. Common Pondsnail.

[Kwomais]

Thanks ChocolateBetta! Now I can figure out how to care for the little guy (although it would appear that it's been caring for itself thus far)

[ChoclateBetta]

There are more likely more.

[Kwomais]

So I'm likely to be soon overrun?

[ChoclateBetta]

Possibly.

[Syriiven]

They are hermaphrodites, the best thing you can do is watch for more. But re-homing him would be best to avoid the worst of it. I'm not sure about a snail's life cycle and just when they begin to reproduce, but best to try and nip it in the bud. I had a couple hi-jackers on my plants too.

The thing is if they die, it's a huge ammonia spike to your tank. So if you find them or not, it's a gamble. Keep an eye on ammonia levels and just watch for more. Can even try taking your plant and doing a thorough rinsing.