Assassin Snails and what I have learned

[vampie]

What other foods do you put in the tank?

I used to feed frozen bloodworms since they didn't seem like they were hunting very well - coincidentally enough, and it's surely just coincidence, I had assassin deaths only after I stopped using the worms.

Here is an interesting piece saying the the Great Pond Snail is a freshwater Whelk
http://books.google.com/books?id=b6gVWjH8LTMC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=freshwater+whelk+snails&source=bl&ots=54DFNc2BX3&sig=kX58CkSTObDRlyh1ggG1U2Kyrb4&hl=en&ei=vm2nSfO5IIH0sAOJxYTVDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA91,M1

I think the author is saying that the Great Pond Snail also goes by the name of Freshwater Whelk, and not that it is a freshwater whelk. Sort like how the Redtail Black Shark isn't actually a shark. I'm no expert on whelks, but I believe that name is just given to either a family or order - and one pond snails likely doesn't belong in.

I always see the Indonesia being the source of many exotic and undiscovered species. Tylomelania sp., Sulawesi shrimps such as Celebes beauty, and then the assassin snails.

Especially with the recent introductions to the hobby, their coloring seem much more akin to marine inverts than freshwater, doesn't it?

 

[Sounguru]

I used to feed frozen bloodworms since they didn't seem like they were hunting very well - coincidentally enough, and it's surely just coincidence, I had assassin deaths only after I stopped using the worms.

If your Assassins were used to feeding on worms the easiest food source then I can se how you had problems. I would not recommend feeding worms unless that is a last ditch case of no feeder snails at all. The Assassins will go long periods without food and when they get hungry enough they will eat.

How long had you had the snails until they died? I had a couple kick off from my original shipment a few months after I got them one from stupidity and another I think just from age. If your snails were wild caught you really have no clue as to their real age.

The one piece of info I can not seem to find and will have to deduce on my own is an age range. I have recorded the birth of a few of known Assassin fry and will keep a log until all are dead then average the age to get that info, but no telling how long that will be.

I think the author is saying that the Great Pond Snail also goes by the name of Freshwater Whelk, and not that it is a freshwater whelk. Sort like how the Redtail Black Shark isn't actually a shark. I'm no expert on whelks, but I believe that name is just given to either a family or order - and one pond snails likely doesn't belong in.

Probably true but the only reference I could find in my quick internet search

Especially with the recent introductions to the hobby, their coloring seem much more akin to marine inverts than freshwater, doesn't it?

There is actually a SW variety that has almost the same markings as our litle friends. It is actually the same size and shape as our FW friends.

 

[vampie]

How long had you had the snails until they died? I had a couple kick off from my original shipment a few months after I got them one from stupidity and another I think just from age. If your snails were wild caught you really have no clue as to their real age.

I got them early in the summer last year I think - stopped using the worms this year, and the two kicked the bucket earlier this month.

BTW, any clue on their lifespan?

Probably true but the only reference I could find in my quick internet search

Well, you know, "people make **** up". You should see what importers/wholesalers do with fish names these days...

There is actually a SW variety that has almost the same markings as our litle friends. It is actually the same size and shape as our FW friends

Bumblebee Snail, no? I was speaking of the newer Sulawesi snails and shrimp as well. Especially the shrimp, their coloring is so much more solid than most freshwater shrimp that were in the hobby, which is more "blotched".

 

[Lupin]

We know that other sites are stealing info and claiming it is their own...:evil_lol:

I know what you mean.lol

Especially with the recent introductions to the hobby, their coloring seem much more akin to marine inverts than freshwater, doesn't it?

I also noticed that. It's weird they are really as colorful as the SW ones. Then again, Indonesia is a country of thousands of islands and the creatures have evolved over time.

If your Assassins were used to feeding on worms the easiest food source then I can se how you had problems. I would not recommend feeding worms unless that is a last ditch case of no feeder snails at all. The Assassins will go long periods without food and when they get hungry enough they will eat.

I think it's possible the assassins just starve themselves to death failing to learn how to hunt after getting used to the easy source. What do you think of this theory, Will?

There is actually a SW variety that has almost the same markings as our litle friends. It is actually the same size and shape as our FW friends.

I think I know what this is. I'm not mistaken this snail does have similar markings.

BTW, any clue on their lifespan?

As to that, there is no accurate record yet although some sites assumed 2-5 years. The assassins appeared in the hobby in 2007.

 

[Sounguru]

I think it's possible the assassins just starve themselves to death failing to learn how to hunt after getting used to the easy source. What do you think of this theory, Will?

As to that, there is no accurate record yet although some sites assumed 2-5 years. The assassins appeared in the hobby in 2007.

I'm thinking more along the lines of natural prey. My Assassins went after MTS right from the get go. MTS are of similar shape and size as the Rabbit snails that are found in the area. So if they do not have similar prey as to what they had in the wild, if wild caught, they might not see other snails as food until they are climatized to the food snails we put in the tanks.

Once they hit their first easier prey like a ramshorn then it becomes a reverse problem where they will not hunt the harder snails due to the fact they are looking for the easy meal so to speak.

2 to 5 is the guess going around right now but no one seems to know for sure.

 

[vampie]

Assassins and Tylomelanias are from the same area? That's so strange, Assassins have been in the hobby for years, but Tylomelanias have only been around for a year or so. You would think they'd enter at the same time.

 

[Sounguru]

Assassins have been around since 2007 from my understanding and Rabbits were known about at that time but just not introduced widely. They were in Germany and that area, but just not known here. The invert craze is something rather new in the US.

 

[Sounguru]

I just added this line to the article...

-The male from my observations tends to be the smaller one and have the thinner stripes and the female tends to be larger with bigger stripes. Now this in no way is 100% for determining which is which but is just gathered from observing my snails.

 

[vampie]

I'm sure I heard of the Assassin in 2006 and back then, it was still commonly referred to as Clea helena. The Tylomelanias as well as the shrimp from the same area were introduced to the hobby very late in 2007 if I remember correctly. Granted, Assassins were rarer back then, but it was certainly around before the newer Sulawesi inverts.

 

[Lupin]

I just added this line to the article...

-The male from my observations tends to be the smaller one and have the thinner stripes and the female tends to be larger with bigger stripes. Now this in no way is 100% for determining which is which but is just gathered from observing my snails.

Still nice to know the possibilities though.:thumbsup: