# Assassin snails not very active



## Tirral (25 Mar 2020)

Hi all I'm new to the forum, I have had many tanks over the years but only recently got into growing aquarium plants.
I have added 3x assassin snails to my tank to help with an explosion of MTS. I acclimatised them to my tank water over a few hours and dropped them in. I didn't see them for a few days and then one appeared. Saw it feeding on a large MTS and thought where are the other 2. Another one appeared the next day and started hunting. But the first one is now laying upside down on the bottom and hasn't moved in days. The second one is just stuck to one place on the side glass and hasn't moved in 2 days now. Not seen the 3rd one since putting them in. 

What could be happening?

Thanks Terry




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## Gill (25 Mar 2020)

The like to hunt alot. And spend alot of time in the gravel hunting for snails. Sometimes you can go days without seeing them.


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## Tirral (25 Mar 2020)

Gill said:


> The like to hunt alot. And spend alot of time in the gravel hunting for snails. Sometimes you can go days without seeing them.


This one has been on the glass for 2 days and hasn't moved. They have hardly been moving when I have seen them. 

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## Conort2 (25 Mar 2020)

Do you have co2? My nerites don’t move around much when the co2 is on, once it switches off they become much more active.

cheers

Conor


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## Zeus. (25 Mar 2020)

Dont see mine for months some times, as long as the snail snails of their prey keep appearing there doing their job


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## dw1305 (25 Mar 2020)

Hi all, 
I only had them briefly, I was given three and they started fine and very active, but they rapidly began to show shell attrition at the shell apex and became less active. I wasn't too worried (I have a lot of snails) but after six months or so of not seeing them I found their very eroded shell remains.

I don't inject CO2, but there will be times when the pH dips below pH 7 and I never have more than about 4 dGH/4dKH, so I think you need reasonably hard water to keep them over any length of time.

cheers Darrel


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## Zeus. (25 Mar 2020)

dw1305 said:


> so I think you need reasonably hard water to keep them over any length of time.



had them in my 500l for some time which had a big pH drop but my tap water is 20dGH and thats before I raise the [Mg] from 5.5ppm to 10ppm and they even bred in the tank


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## Tim Harrison (25 Mar 2020)

I introduced them to both high and low energy tanks to clean up my pest snails. That was in MK which has very hard water. They bred like crazy in both tanks. From the 5 I bought I ended up with around 100.
However, since moving to Leicester I haven't had much success with them, at all.

But the others are right, they will bury in to the substrate and hide, and sometimes remain inactive. But if yours has been there for a while it's likely something isn't right. Have you used a molluscicide in the recent past? I think they are very sensitive to chemicals.


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## Tirral (25 Mar 2020)

Conort2 said:


> Do you have co2? My nerites don’t move around much when the co2 is on, once it switches off they become much more active.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Conor


I dose with easycarbo water treatment as per the instructions. 1ml for 50 litres of water. My tank is nano so do 0.5ml for 23 litres of water.

Thanks 

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## Tirral (25 Mar 2020)

Tim Harrison said:


> I introduced them to both high and low energy tanks to clean up my pest snails. That was in MK which has very hard water. They bred like crazy in both tanks. From the 5 I bought I ended up with around 100.
> However, since moving to Leicester I haven't had much success with them, at all.
> 
> But the others are right, they will bury in to the substrate and hide, and sometimes remain inactive. But if yours has been there for a while it's likely something isn't right. Have you used a molluscicide in the recent past? I think they are very sensitive to chemicals.


I haven't used any chemicals other than easy life products easycarbo and profito in the correct doses.

Thanks

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## Simon Cole (25 Mar 2020)

I've got the same problem. Well one that is similar. I've got a tank full of rare snails waiting to go into my main tank, and somewhere in there is an assassin. 

Is there any way to get them to come out using old meat, mollusc-flavored baits or some other trick?


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (2 Apr 2020)

If you have one upside down on the BBC substrate I would rescue it into some plant mass and see if it gets going again, I know nerites can’t always right themselves. 
been a few days since your last message, how are things looking now?


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## zozo (2 Apr 2020)

At least it's not that they don't want to and dream about being active...


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## doylecolmdoyle (4 Apr 2020)

ive had a few assassins for the past year, sometimes i will go months without seeing them... they dont see like very active snails to me, i think they spends most of the time buried, in the first tank I had them in without co2 they where more active, I moved them to a tank with co2 and hardly see them now.


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## Andy Taylor (5 Apr 2020)

I have 6 in my tank and i only see them when i add shrimp food.


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## Tirral (18 Apr 2020)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> If you have one upside down on the BBC substrate I would rescue it into some plant mass and see if it gets going again, I know nerites can’t always right themselves.
> been a few days since your last message, how are things looking now?


Sad to say the 2 that where left have died. I moved the one that was upside-down over to that plants where he stayed for a while. He was moving about for a few days. When I done a water change a few days later I found both upside down dead. 

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