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assasin snails any disadvantages?

M

mike b

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1 Feb 2015
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Hi there. Just wondering if anyone has had any problems with assasin snails in their planted tank? I know they do a good job wiping out pest snails, they won't eat your plants and they don't breed so prolifically. So everything seems to be great. I've read that they can kill shrimps which I just can't believe but has anyone had any disadvantages from keeping assasin snails?
 
I think killing shrimps is rare. However, I've had problems with both Assasins and Nerites...They can go walkabout outside the aquarium if you don't have a lid and especially if you have high levels of CO2. Also their shells become weak if you have low KH/GH, so they can become damaged if they fall from the glass onto rocks. They can also be killed if they get stuck on a filter inlet (especially the lily pipe slits) - they get sucked out of their shells!

P
 
Thanks for the reply. Didn't think about kh/gh. Did you have any problems with assasin snails reproducing out of control like trumpet snails can?
 
They do reproduce but not nearly as quick as Ramshorn or any of the other pest snails. I started with 4 in a Fluval 19l tank and have about 15-20 after a year...
 
Did you find assasin snails spend most of the day under the gravel like trumpet snails or are they out and about during daylight?
 
Definitely a mixture of the two, some are bold and slide around all day looking for mischief, some hide and you only notice when you see the substrate moving etc.. As a rule though, they are much more outgoing in daylight than Trumpets.
 
Cheers. Thanks for the replies. I have literally hundreds of trumpet snails that I only see at night. I'm sure they keep uprooting new carpet plants before they can root properly (hc, gloss) as everything else seems fine (co2, light, distribution etc) all other plants stay rooted. How many assasin snails would you recommend for a 180 litre tank?
 
That many Trumpets will keep reproducing ahead of the rate of being eaten I would imagine...Basically anywhere between 5-10 assassin's is probably fine as they will reproduce slowly and gradually inhibit and then reduce the Trumpet population.

I can probably send you that many if you want?
 
Yea that would be great. What's the cost for 5 or 10 assasin snails?
 
I have been reading up on these as i have a problem with Tadpole snails, not 100% that's what they are called but they look very similar to the pictures on google. They breed like mad, i had one on a java fern from the fish shop now i have about 100! I have Crystal Red shrimp though so a little weary of putting assassins in incase the shrimp end up as lunch!
 
The only shrimps I have in are amano's shrimps and I can't see assasins taking them out as the amanos are much bigger. Thanks Mark for your generous offer. I don't know how I can send you the money for postage. Do I send you a cheque or are there more technical ways?
 
Mike, It usually involves PayPal but to be honest don't worry, happy to post out on Monday, last time I posted snails it cost me less than £1 so I think I can manage it. PM me your address for Monday.
 
Mantis, there are some people who claim assassins eat shrimp or shrimplets, I have even seen a video of one eating a blue bolt! However no one ever has a video of the shrimp being caught by the snail so one assumes mostly the shrimp is dead or dying and the assassin takes advantage. I do appreciate the idea of not wanting to risk higher value shrimp though...
 
Colinlp said:
I kept assassins with CRS for a few years with no problems, to be honest I think they are both essential CUC . I certainly never saw one hunt shrimp
Click to expand...

Think i will try and get a couple as could do with stopping the outbreak! but keep a close eye on them.
 
Yes that's what happened to me too, the good thing was once the pest snails had gone the assassins reached a threshold population and just became good CUC and pretty ones too. The only downside I could see was if you kept ornamental snails because they would be gone too
 
Cut out their food supply. The only reason there are so many is because there's either too much food the fish can handle, or the trumpets get to it undisturbed. I have cherry shrimp and bottom dwellers(corys, khuli loaches, plecos) and despite having 3 types of snails, their population is unnoticeable, including the prolific trumpets.
I had a trumpet snail explosion in the summer in a cherry shrimp only tank which I overfed. Eventually the trumpets became so many and so bold, they'd come out immediately at feeding time alongside the shrimp piling over fallen wafers, climbing on the zucchini, etc... I just stopped feeding that much and their population dwindled. But it's a lot easier in my fish tanks because the fish get to the food first.

If you want to get rid of the trumpets completely because they uproot plants(never happened to me), then assassin aren't any better because they'll dig in the substrate too and once they've munched on the other snails, they'll happily accept fish food so I just don't see the logic of replacing one snail with another. At least trumpets are more useful than assasins and mine are quite beautiful, light brown with black dots/stripes.

But assasins will get rid of them alright.

This video is disgusting but quite funny. Trumpets eating algae :)

 
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