oh no assassin multiplication :-(

kelly82

kelly82

AC Members
Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
well i thought i had read up plenty on these guys, and figured they would be a good addition to my tank to control the population of MTS which has exploded. well i brought 3, added them, they did a great job and quickly made a dent in the population. only a week after i added them i came across an article that said they can lay up to 15 eggs per night depending on how much food they have. i quickly found the 3 and moved them into the quarantine tank. well when i did a water change a couple of days after removing 2 of the 3, and finding the 3rd one during the change, i also found lots of little white dots inside almost square sacs over the bottom of the driftwood. i squished a few then thought nah they cant be, surely they would lay their eggs all in one place not dotted around. i put the wood back in place and thought nothing of it. until now.

ive noticed the same eggs dotted all over the quarantine tank :thumbsdown: so i quickly googled assassin eggs and its one and the same. im so fed up. these guys are going to wipe out my MTS colony altogether, and i only wanted a couple so they would keep the numbers down a bit. i really dont think i could be more fed up right now. the assassins will do nothing for the tank once the other snails are gone right? and i have no way of fishing them all out as they will be buried in the gravel right? i am so angry with myself for not researching more beforehand. plus if i add anything to kill these guys off, not only will their dead bodies pollute the water, but i wont be able to add any other snails afterwards.
 
That's the problem with assassin snails, Kelly. Underfeeding would help but it would take its toll on your MTS colony too. Decisions, decisions...Maybe just remove the adults so you will have time to put everything under control why you still can, Kelly. It'll take a few weeks before you find yourself with loads of baby assassins.
 
How big is your tank? The assassin snails will eat other foods when the snails are gone but it is unlikely that they will kill all of the snails at the rate they multiply. You can also buy snails from other enthusiasts to feed your assassins or sell off your assassin snails as there are others who would love to have them! As you have found out--it is never a good idea to use other aquatic critters to 'solve' a problem as it leaves you with another problem down the road. I find these snails incredibly fascinating and have a tank going for them! It is great to see them in all phases of their life!
 
well there are at a guess 40-50 single eggs just on the under side of the bog wood, how big do these guys need to be to start breeding, the last thing i want is for the babies to have babies, if the 3 adults can produce this many i dread to think what 40 new ones will manage to produce. im so gutted, i am going to take the 3 adults back to the aquatics centre, and then clean out and remove all of the eggs from the quarantine tank. i can then re-set the quarantine tank minus the assassins and at least that way i can keep breeding my ramshorns in there like i was before they chewed their way through them too (small price to pay for removing the assassins)

i know this will get a frown from most people on here, but is there any type of small loach capable of taking out assassins aswell as the MTS and living with my stock list as it is below. its a 6 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot planted tank, approx 180 us gallons, 150 uk gallons.im quite happy to have no snails from now on, they dont seem to be making any kind of dent in the algae i wanted them for, so they are a pointless bio-load in the tank now. thanks.
 
In my experience, assassin snails start spawning once they hit 3/4 of an inch. At this point, as long as they are given plenty of foods, they will keep laying again and again. I spotted hundreds on the silicon sealant much to my dismay since I don't have any more space for more and I hate to see my tanks riddled with assassins while other species have to be evicted which I will never do for their sake.:screwy:

The loaches won't eradicate everyone but they can dent the population a bit. Yoyo loaches are very effective on that job.
 
just been looking up yoyo loaches, not the prettiest but seem to be the best bet. will they uproot my plants? i love the kuhli loaches and the dwarf chain loaches but neither seems able to take out the snails so although pretty not my ideal option. will the yoyos take out the assassins too then? or are assassins bomb proof :jaw-dropping: i feel bad for my snail population but :huh: i had a brain fart and didnt do my homework :nono: bad me, not making that mistake again!

as for the snail size at breeding, the adults i have are around 3/4 inch now, so hopefully if i get my loaches asap then they can take out the youngsters before all hell breaks lose-if they will eat the assassins that is :nilly: oohhh what did i start :irked: so annoyed with me!
 
just got hold of hubby, he is going to go to the aquatics centre and pick up a trio of yoyos if they have any in. fingers crossed they like the taste of the assassins!
 
well that was what my QT was for, well for a rescue tank for my ramshorns as it was the MTS that were out of control, but the tank is so big, i cant get into it to fish out any assassins i see without pulling out the step ladder and diving in upto my armpit. i saw at least 30-40 eggs, on one piece of wood, i have 2 pieces in there the same size, and tons of other things they have no doubt been laying on. i figure its best to just remove the snails completely, hopefully if hubby can get some, then the yoyos will be the way to go. no more snails for me. plus i imagine with so many the bioload must be huge, i know when lights go out the MTS make it look like the gravel is alive :jaw-dropping: thats without the ramshorns that are in all the plants, and now the assassins too.
 
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