I have been advised by the seller of the plants that the snail is a Physa snail. "They are a normal part of aquatic life. They will eat algae, however, they do multiply rather quickly. They do die off quickly once they have no more food source. "

Others were not quite so complimentary: "they appear not to eat any of the plants in my aquarium, they can propagate to a huge population. They lay eggs in a clear jelly like gel. The gel is usually attached to the underside of the leaves, thus making it hard to detect."

"They are very active and do their job with no harm to any of the plants. The only drawback to these guys is that they mate like rabbits!"

Guess I will continue to destroy them if I see any more. I saw one this morning but it might have been in the gravel when I removed the plants yesterday.

However, it was reported they do have some comedic appeal -- "One of the funniest things they do is snail wrestling. One snail will crawl onto the shell of another. The one on the bottom doesn't like this so he will twist his shell back and forth while the one on top hangs on for dear life."

Oh well, I guess everyone needs a laugh now and then.