# Keeping Assassin Snails



## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

I'm having some difficulty keeping assassin snails alive in my tank. They would be OK for a few days and then I would find them belly up. Then a few days after, it's just the shell left with holes in them.

I did some research and it may be a calcium defiency so I placed half a cuttle bone it clipped into a veggie clip. Should I look into dosing calcium nitrate? Is there a good way to test for calcium in the tank? All I could find for testing is in SW tanks.

TIA.


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

*Assassins*

Do you have a supply of snails in the tank as food?


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## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

Yep, in fact that's how I realized my assassin snails were dying off. I'm finding more and more nuisance snails.


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## mousey (Mar 28, 2011)

I bought an assasin snail to get rid of some of the ramshorn snails but so far have not found any empty shells. 
I did put in a piece of green veg and caught a lot of mts--- about 60 of them as well as about 15 ramshorns.
The assasin snail seems to be eating the algae on the gravel.
Will have to see if there are more snail eggs under the mopani wood next week. This week I cleaned off a lot of egg packages under the log. Was hoping the assasin would eat some of the eggs. 
maybe it is but there is an abundance of food so we will not notice a difference for some time.
I gather assasins are very slow breeders and you definitely have to have more than one in a tank. Would like to see a few more assasins in my tank but at 3$ each they are a bit pricey if they don't do the job or just up and die.


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

Well, that's odd. I can simply add anecdotally that I had a planted tank that had a whole pile of ramshorns and after adding 6 they went to town (though gradually). 

I since have had a couple of the larger ones kill off a few of the smaller ones. I guess they'll eat their own when choice food is scarce.

I'd doubt it was a calcium deficit that knocked yours off. Unless you're truly certain. Is there a possibility that there is some trace copper in the tank or water?


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## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

It is really odd and I've spent the last couple of months trying to figure it out. 

Before that, they were breeding on me and I've always found baby assassin snails here and there. Unfortunately, my 90 gallon tank has gone through a few changes in these last few months so I can't exactly pin point when they started dying off (Installed inline diffusor, started EI dosing, added a second canister filter).

The frustrating part is that my 75 gallon has assassin snails as well. They are breeding so this rules out the water as the issue and I have a supply of them. I bought a PH meter because I read that they prefer less acidic water but the PH in both tanks hover around 5.5. CO2 is being injected into both tanks. The only major difference between the two is that in my 90 gallon, I do EI dosing were as my 75 gallon, I use Flourish only because there is lower demanding plants.


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

What exactly are you dosing on each tank?


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## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

90 Gallon 
Day 1, 3 and 5
Potassium Nitrate - 7/8 tsp 
Monopotassium Phosphate - 1/4 tsp 
Magnesium Sulphate - 1/4 tsp

Day 2, 4
CSM+B - 1/4 tsp

Day 6, 7 
Nothing

75 Gallon
Day 1, 3 and 5 
Flourish - 20 ml


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*snails*

u need to get a supply of mts snails reach out and ask if anyone has any they can give u some to supply food for the assasins


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

And the tank that had the issue is only getting fluorish?


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## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

No, it's the 90 gallon having issues.

I stopped dosing magnesium sulphate....fingers crossed.


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