My assassins took down my oldest bridgesii this morning

[msjinkzd]

Well, these assassins have been being housed with this one adult bridgesii in a 36g for several months now. From the pics, you can see the size difference. The assassins are target fed bloodworms, pellets, and ramshorn and pond snails, all in ample supply. Today 4 of them went after my apple snail. By the time I saw, he was already paralyzed and down. :(
I thinks its time I got rid of these assassins.
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff170/msjinkzd/assassinattack003.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff170/msjinkzd/assassinattack002.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff170/msjinkzd/assassinattack001.jpg

[stezatois]

aww gutting. I guess it shows that they are also predator hunters. Not just opportunists.

[Hurley]

Wow! What a size difference. Do they actually paralyze their pray?

[Damodred]

:(

[Dwarf Puffers]

Wow, a pack of snails team-hunting a bigger snail. It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad. Are you going to get rid of them, or just not house them with snails you like? If they've been breeding, it may be worthwhile to keep them. After all, it's not like there was spite behind the attack. They just wanted a change in menu. :(



Wow! What a size difference. Do they actually paralyze their pray?


I think she meant they had bitten him in the right spots to paralyze him.

[dixienut]

so sorry,... well they are called assassins ?!!!

[msjinkzd]

well, he is up and moving about. I have moved the apple to another tank since he is moving around again. With 4 assassins on him, I am shocked he has survived. I guess time will tell.

I have about 20 or so adult assassins and who knows how many babies. They have been breeding like crazy. I think I would like to get rid of all of them. I do not have a "safe" tank to keep them in since the one they are in now has cherry shrimp as well. I am going to start capturing and isolating them then will offer them up for sale I would imagine.

[jackiomy]

well, he is up and moving about. I have moved the apple to another tank since he is moving around again. With 4 assassins on him, I am shocked he has survived. I guess time will tell.

I have about 20 or so adult assassins and who knows how many babies. They have been breeding like crazy. I think I would like to get rid of all of them. I do not have a "safe" tank to keep them in since the one they are in now has cherry shrimp as well. I am going to start capturing and isolating them then will offer them up for sale I would imagine.

I didn't know they bothered shrimp. I am thinking of getting rid of mine since I have gotten so attached to my other snails.

[msjinkzd]

They don't typically go after shrimp, but acouple people have reported that they have eaten them randomly. I don't think they are a consistent thread to shrimp, but since I do not have a pest snail problem, I don't think I want to keep these assassins as I don't have a tank (other than the oscar/endli tank) which does not have inverts I am attached to.

[Dwarf Puffers]

Set up a new 5g for them? Oh, and how much do you sell them for? They're 15$ whenever I see them.

[dixienut]

do they reproduce like briggs or like rams? in other words if i get 1 will i have more?

i have ponds in the betta tank and they are everywhere it would be nice to thro them in to clean house and even nicer if when gone i could find the assasins and take them out .....

or would i have and out break of assasins?

[msjinkzd]

I don't want a tank specific for them, lol. They are neat, but I prefer the personalities of my other critters. I think I paid $4 or $5 a piece for them, and would likely sell them for the same.

They are sex specific and lay single eggs. They seem to form mated pairs. The eggs take a long time to hatch and they are not laid nearly as frequently as other snails.

[leeser28]

Sorry about the attack - how's the big guy?

[msjinkzd]

He is in the cpd growout tank, hanging out on some wood. I am observing him, he is definitely still alive.

[grannylvsfish]

Rachal, can they go in with fry? see I would love to have these to keep the pond and ramshorn down! if they can go in with fry can I have some? I have a tank with no apples, ( fry grow out) with 5 mommy guppy

[stezatois]

aww its good to hear hes still alive. Makes me glad to think that i set up a species tank for them.

[grannylvsfish]

Rachalm can you tell whats boys and girls in these snails? if so cool, I will take one of each :lol:

[stezatois]

Rachal, can they go in with fry? see I would love to have these to keep the pond and ramshorn down! if they can go in with fry can I have some? I have a tank with no apples, ( fry grow out) with 5 mommy guppy

i would imagine they would be ok with a fry tank, its probably an ideal home for them as the extra feeding needed for fry creates food for the snails. I got loaches in my fry tank to assist me as i couldnt find assasins. I landed upon mine by accident.

[grannylvsfish]

thats cool as I find 20 ramshorns each day in my fry tank :swear: today I have a small jar in there with zuccini to trap more. but if I had assassins muwuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ~!!!!!!!!!!!!

[msjinkzd]

I don't know that I would keep them with fry. They are carnivores. I would ask sounguru what he thinks about it, he knows more about them than me.

[Hollygirl]

I hope your bridgessi will be okay! I'm not surprised to tell you the truth that they attacked such a large snail, or by the recent thread about them going after a shrimp. The babies that I got from you have taken down adult ramshorns that were four times their size. I plan on keeping mine in the 10 gallon with only pond snails. If you plan on selling any of them keep me in mind for an order in the spring. :)

[grannylvsfish]

I don't know that I would keep them with fry. They are carnivores. I would ask sounguru what he thinks about it, he knows more about them than me.
if not I have an extra tank up for my fry, ( got molly fry in it now ) I can just put the fry in with the guppy fry. can you sell me two assissin mates?

[AquaGem]

that's really sad :( I hope the big guy is ok. It's kinda like they formed a gang and jumped him. Freaky.

[msjinkzd]

I cannot make guarantees about their gender as I don't really know how to sex them. It seems like they form pairs, but I have no real way of knowing which is which.

[Hollygirl]

I think they pair off or "gang up" on prey too. As mine are maturing this is the behaviour that I am seeing. The 6 gallon that they are in now has a ton or hornwort in it so I'm anxious to get them in the 10 to see how they react. Something else that I have noticed is that I have no other "pests" in the 6 gallon like planaria or copods etc. I'm pretty good at keeping up with partial water changes and feeding correctly but usually in an invert tank you get a lot of bonus critters; not so in the Assassin tank. I'm wondering if they eat things like planaria as well?

[grannylvsfish]

I don't know that I would keep them with fry. They are carnivores. I would ask sounguru what he thinks about it, he knows more about them than me.
he has his with fry, says its ok. there cool snails, will they kill every snail out there? nerites ? they sure are pretty.

[Sounguru]

Okay some know facts.....

#1 They will gang up and take down larger snails not always killing it straight out but doing enough damage it may not survive.

#2 There are no confirmed reports of them eating healthy fish, just rumours and those are real sketchy.

#3 It takes a male and a female to reproduce, and they lay one egg per egg sac and only 5 to 15 at a time. It take 3 to 4 weeks to hatch and 6 months or more to reach full size.

#4 They are both Predators and Scavenagers They will actively hunt for food but will usually take whatever is the easiest meal avaiable to them. This will cause them to pass up say an MTS to get to a Ramshorn because they are easier to crack open so to speak.

#5 Shrimp attacks are very rare and far between .. So no worry there.

Here is all the info and more soon to be updated again.... http://arizonainverts.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=204

[The Zigman]

Man those things are mean...
oughtta call them killer snails, or murderer snails or assassin snails or something...

Just kiddin Rach, hope the old apple pulls through for ya!

[saram521]

I agree with Rachel. If an assassin snail was able to get hold of an adult shrimp, as rich_one witnessed firsthand, I believe an assassin could take down an unsuspecting baby fish. We know how fast shrimp are at narrowly escaping dangerous situations, for the most part, and I don't think fry are nearly as quick as shrimp are at hauling tail.

[grannylvsfish]

well to tell you the truth, I have way to many fry anyways:lipssealedsmilie:

[Hollygirl]

This snail is relatively new to the hobby so I imagine there are a lot of things we are going to learn about it. In the meantime I plan on isolating mine in their own tank.

[Arakkis]

to sex, the will often be a large one followed by a small asassin (big one is usually the female and the smaller is the male)

[Lupin]

The more I read about assassins, the more I am getting ticked off from keeping them even if they will not be kept with other snails other than the surplus pests.:perv: Sorry about your snail, Rach.:(

[dixienut]

i wouldn't get mad at them its just the way God made them to keep things like ponds snails in check.

you wouldn't get mad at a lion for eating meat?
wait i do...lol

they are a necessary evil to keep creatures under control

[msjinkzd]

I am not angry, I acknowledge this is their way, I have too many snails I "treasure" ina ll my tanks for them to cohabitate.

[BreellaBlue87]

Glad to hear your big guy is doing ok.

[msjinkzd]

I am not sure if he is ok at all, he is barely active. he has some obvious injuries. We will see. He is 2 years old, so I would imagine this could end up being fatal, just from the stress.

[Kashta]

I hope your brigg makes it, Rachel.

[pinkertd]

Aw Rach, hope he pulls through for you, that's a shame! It doesn't have a nice name, so i don't think it's a nice snail!:shakehead:

[OhNo123]

Aww poor snail! I got attacked! It was so innocent too, how sad :(

[EdC]

Wow...Sorry to hear about your brig. I'm glad I read this though. Assassins don't seem to have hit the Toronto market yet, but I would almost certainly have grabbed a couple the moment they did, since I have plenty of ramshorns and MTS to spare. Knowing they'll take down larger snails though will definitely put a damper on my enthusiasm.

I worry enough about my Spixis, which I have read can be predatory, and which occasionally will piggyback one of the brigs, or a big ramshorn or MTS, and aggravate it for an hour or so. I have yet to see them do any damage, but it sounds like these assassins are far more effective killers.

[msjinkzd]

Well, the big jade brig is hanging in there. I was very concerned yesterday as he barely moved all day and was laying on the bottom, hanging out of his shell feebly waving an antennae. Today, he is up on teh driftwood and snailing around. Still observing him, but hopefully he will recover.

[pik01]

glad things are looking up :)

[mel_20_20]

I hope he will be OK, Rachel. Do assassins inject poison into their victim? You said he was paralyzed... was it from poison or from the trauma? I'm so sorry he was hurt.:headshake2: Keep us updated.

[Sounguru]

I hope he will be OK, Rachel. Do assassins inject poison into their victim? You said he was paralyzed... was it from poison or from the trauma? I'm so sorry he was hurt.:headshake2: Keep us updated.

From my observations and talking with others it is believed that they do inject some kind of paralyzing agent, but it does not kill the victim outright. We will probably never know until a microbiologist takes one apart and looks for a nerotoxin or another type paralyzing agent.

[bitbot]

They don't typically go after shrimp, but a couple people have reported that they have eaten them randomly.


Pardon my ignorance, but how would they catch a shrimp (unless it was sick)?


And can I ask how you target feed the assassins?

Glad your bridgesii is (maybe) okay.

[Lupin]

Pardon my ignorance, but how would they catch a shrimp (unless it was sick)?
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180271

[Tongue33]

I am sorry for your loss!!:(


And I am so happy I have some myself now!

[Tongue33]

I am not sure if he is ok at all, he is barely active. he has some obvious injuries. We will see. He is 2 years old, so I would imagine this could end up being fatal, just from the stress.


That's what I get for not reading the whoel thread...

So he survived?? That's cool :)

Still i am happy to have some for me too :)

[Mgamer20o0]

i guess your going to have to send the assassins this way msj.....

[msjinkzd]

He is still very lethargic, but alive.

I target feed the assassins by dropping in pest snails every couple of days. That tank also gets fed bloodworms and catfish pellets, both of which they eat readily in addition to the snails.

[snoopy65]

I am pulling for him!

[Hollygirl]

I hope he will be okay.

[mel_20_20]

If the toxin only immobilizes, and doesn't cause tissue damage or necrosis, then maybe he will shake of the effects. Is there any obvious trauma to his body or shell?

[crimsonmoon]

aw poor guy! i can't believe i missed this thread. i hope he pulls through for you Rachel, im sorry :(

[msjinkzd]

He seems to be improving. I am shocked, I thought for sure he was a goner. I am so glad I pulled him from the assassin tank to give him a shot!

[noodles62]

that is good news. We are all pulling for him!

[Fish-Addict]

I hope hes alright!

[dirtydawg10]

Great news, Jinkz!

[mel_20_20]

Grreat to here he's still hanging in there. I hope he makes it.

[ProAquatics]

yikes