# Assassin snails



## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Anyone using these to control trumpets?

Is it working?

Will they overrun tanks eventually? I know they breed slower but, left unchecked, will they cause number problems too?

I am reluctant to dose my tanks with copper even though I don't keep plants, loaches or invertebrates and was wondering if anyone had any success completely removing MTS with these "Assassin snails"?


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

they will definitely eradicate any/all other snails in the tank, but like all other opportunistic creatures, can overpopulate if given the chance. once your trumpets are gone, they will die off accordingly, but will always be present. they transport easily, so warn other snail lovers before offering plants or substrate, and avoid adding them to central systems unless you want them everywhere. they do not harm dwarf shrimp, fry, or plants. they should also be cheap...i paid $25/5 a year back, but i give them away now. HTH.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Compared to the trumpets how present would you say they'd be post MTS? That is, once they've settled in and gotten used to not eating snails all the time? And will they harm nerites?

Also, How big do they get?
Will they kill every last trumpet snail? Meaning if I remove the assassins would the trumpets come back assuming I did nothing to reintroduce them?

One last thing... I don't know what HTH means?


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Thank you much by the way!!


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

BioG said:


> Compared to the trumpets how present would you say they'd be post MTS? That is, once they've settled in and gotten used to not eating snails all the time? And will they harm nerites?


 i see mine every day but there are many more in the substrate. i would suspect they will attack nerites.


BioG said:


> Also, How big do they get?


 mine appear to have matured at 1/2-3/4".


BioG said:


> Will they kill every last trumpet snail?


yes.


BioG said:


> Meaning if I remove the assassins would the trumpets come back assuming I did nothing to reintroduce them?


 trumpets would need to be reintroduced. i breed trumpets in a separate tank just to make sure i always have some. the only way to assure all assassins are out, would be to dry up the entire tank. they are live bearers, so no eggs to find. babies are born small. the smallest i've found was about 'o' size. maybe a bit smaller.



BioG said:


> One last thing... I don't know what HTH means?


 HTH=Hope That Helps.


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

I had dozens of assassin snails in a 10 gallon tank for months. They did clear out the ramshorns and pond snails completely, but a few MTS managed to survive. Oddly, they never produced any eggs, possibly not enough prey for them to reproduce. They will definitely reduce the number of MTS, but I've heard from multiple other people that they didn't eradicate them completely. As for overrunning the tank, they not only reproduce slowly, they also grow even more slowly. Minimal danger of the assassins becoming anywhere near as numerous as other species of snails.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

sounds good guys, thanks!


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