• You liked BFD7 now you should join this forum and of course become a club member to see what CCA is all about.
  • Thank you to everyone who registered and showed up for the BIG Fish Deal #7.

Assassin Snail baby?

Greengirl

Members
So, I got a bunch of assassin snails from Rachel about 6 months ago for my regular snail infestation. They did a great job. But now when I did a water change I found what appears to be a juvie assassin. All the snails Rachel have me were nice and big, so this one must be new. I thought assassins don't spawn in fresh water. Any explanation?

image.jpg
 

chriscoli

Administrator
Yep, that's a baby and they do spawn in fresh water. They can be quite prolific when they're happy. Google about them and look for pics of their egg capsules....once you know what they look like, I'll bet you see them in your tank!
 

Greengirl

Members
Uh oh. I don't want to have an assassin snail infestation now. What is an assassin snail assassin? Do you think this will be a problem?
 

verbal

CCA Members
Just don't feed a lot of meaty food and you won't have much of a population. Or you could always have Charity Assassin snails - killing for a cause. There almost always is some demand for Assassin snails.
 

WendyFish

Members
Yeah, unlike nerites (which are thought not to be viable in fresh water) assassins will breed. They just breed (much) slower than the pest snails they eradicate. I have 110% welcomed the additional snails my assassins have bred over time, as I've expanded my tanks and can always find more places for them. They are good for pest snails and other edible waste if you have fish who aren't good foragers. I have long had an intention that I'd be happy to sell my extras, but in 3 years of keeping them I've always put my extras to use in my own tanks!
 

Greengirl

Members
Ok, you have all convinced me my tank will be ok with more. I saw another even tinier assassin so they are definitely breeding.

And charity assassins is a hilarious idea!
 

chriscoli

Administrator
I'm always happy to have mine breed....like others have said, they don't breed very fast and the extras are put to work.
 
I sell mine back to Rachel. They BREED in my tanks, although things have slowed down now that I think they've munched all the pest snails. The babies are so cute! I think they are a very attractive snail, too, so their presence doesn't bug me the way trumpet snails did.
 

manbern

Members
Soooo, will assasin snails kill ALL other types of snails? I wanted to get a mix of nerite, MTS, and assasins. But if the assasins will just kill everyone else.........

Also, will snails be okay in an African Cichlid Tank?
 

JLW

CCA Members
Assassins will eat other snails of any type, except for really large snails. They'll wipe out MTS, though the biggest ones seem to be more than they can manage. Nerites oddly fall prey to them pretty readily. They can and will also eat shrimp, insect larvae, fish food, detritus, algae, fish eggs, fry, etc. They're omnivores, and quite robust.

They do breed quite prolifically in freshwater.

Personally, I think they may be the next big ecological problem. They breed rapidly, and they're incredibly adaptable and hardy. They also have very, very small eggs and offspring which can hide in just about anything, readily making it down the drain. They can also handle drying, freezing, any water conditions.... I think it is a matter of time before they invade freshwater bodies. We do not have a native, predatory snail in most bodies of water. They will decimate native snail populations, as well as that of aquatic insects, which will have ramifications up and down the food web.

I've found them in tanks that I know I have not put assassins in, simply because they hitched on something.

For those of you who have assassin snails, PLEASE be careful with them. Make sure you are not putting them down the drain or into the trash or compost.
 

manbern

Members
Wow, yeah, I don't want my tank overrun by snails, and definitely don't want to contribute to negatively impacting the environment/ecosystem. So I think I'll pass on the assasins, lol. But I do need a good sand sifting snail that will keep the substrate aerated, and will do ok with African Cichlids (if that's even possible). I have a 110 gal extra high, and any extra help I can get stirring up my sand bed to minimize/eliminate gas pockets, would be great! Any suggestions?
 
Last edited:

b considine

a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude
My assassin snails have eradicated MTS, pond, and ramshorn snails, but left the nerites alone. Expect some in an auction soon.

Blaise
 

mchambers

Former CCA member
I'm not as worried as Josh is about assassin snails.

They may kill shrimp, for example, but they sure don't kill very many. To me, that's like worrying about cats killing birds. Sure, they might get one or two, but snails don't swim! The odds on them catching a shrimp are pretty long.

Also, although they reproduce in some of my tanks, they certainly don't reproduce in other tanks. I have no idea why there is a difference, because the basic conditions in the various tanks are the same. It could be they'd reproduce broadly if they got into our waters, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Finally, why worry about putting them in the compost? Do you really think they'd survive?
 

Greengirl

Members
I will say the assassin snails are very resilient. I treated a tank they live in with goat deowormer to help a fish with a bad parasite problem, and I was initially told it would kill the snails, but they are all alive and well and I see a few more tiny snails.
 
Top