Bladder Snail
Physella acuta
A small freshwater snail often found in ponds, ditches, aquariums, and slow-moving streams, grazing over submerged plants, algae films, and decaying organic matter. It moves by gliding on a muscular foot and can breathe air at the surface with a lung-like cavity, helping it survive in warm or low-oxygen water. Its thin, left-coiling shell offers modest protection, and its high reproductive rate lets it quickly colonize new habitats. Though tiny and slow, it is a hardy detritus-grazer in many freshwater ecosystems.
- Type
- Water
- Conservation status
- LC