Assassin snail problem?

[Fraise]

Since setting up my tank i've had a problem with what i beleive are MTS which i do not want in the tank. To try and remove them i purchased 10 assassin snails a couple of months ago and they seem to be doing an OK job at bringing the population but when i was cleaning the tank i noticed at least 5 baby assassin snails.

I'm wondering if these snails which i bought to remove other snails are going to become a problem themselves. Will the assassin population begin to regulate itself as the food source begins to decrease or should i take the babies out whenever i see them?

[waters10]

Since setting up my tank i've had a problem with what i beleive are MTS which i do not want in the tank. To try and remove them i purchased 10 assassin snails a couple of months ago and they seem to be doing an OK job at bringing the population but when i was cleaning the tank i noticed at least 5 baby assassin snails.

I'm wondering if these snails which i bought to remove other snails are going to become a problem themselves. Will the assassin population begin to regulate itself as the food source begins to decrease or should i take the babies out whenever i see them?
Sell them! I don'y know where you got yours, but they go for 2-3 bucks on other forums! In fact, I was thinking about buying some myself.

[Fraise]

I could sell them to my LFS but i just want to avoid a situation where my tank is overrun with them.

[prolude006]

no they grow slowly and will not overrun the tank like mts. they need to stay warm when shipped or they die. they do get a decent price for them. I would love some but I cant afford to buy them at this point. they will regulate if the mts numbers dwindle.

David

[yikesjason]

From what I remember about assassins, it is very difficult to get them to breed in the first place. I doubt they will get out of hand.

[whitedevil]

usually 1 egg per month is laid, they need a male and female to breed.


Sell your MTS, I raise them for sale for food and for cleaning crews, they are awesome tank cleaners, especially for live plants, they are almost a must with live plants ive come to conclude(got 3 heavily planted tanks now and build a 210g planted tank for the discus)

I sell em 10 bucks a box, 12x12x8 box, usually 1-2 net fulls off the glass yields 200-300 snails.

But assassins will never be a problem. until there is no snails for them to eat then they will stop breeding and possibly eat eachother, they are known to turn to cannibalism.

[Fraise]

The problem is that i simply do not want the MTS in the tank and i really dont know who i would sell them too. I've been keeping an eye on the Assasin population and it seems to be exploding. the MTS population is dropping though which is good so i'll probably just sell the assassin's when they get a little larger.

[korbi_doc]

Hey Fraise, check the "snail problem" in the general section...maybe you could sell a few to me to help my snail problem....

Dottie



The problem is that i simply do not want the MTS in the tank and i really dont know who i would sell them too. I've been keeping an eye on the Assasin population and it seems to be exploding. the MTS population is dropping though which is good so i'll probably just sell the assassin's when they get a little larger.

[Apistomaster]

Once Antemone helena exhaust their food supply they will disappear.
I believe when you are deliberately breeding Assassin snails that they can be far more prolific than one egg per month but that said, not many are trying to breed them for sale. I would love to have a bunch for my larger display tanks and some others as well. I am not totally against snails, particularly MTS but they can become too numerous and even when they die their sturdy shells still end up cluttering up the appearance of a planted tank's substrate.
Most Assassin Snails are getting about $6 each in most USA sources so that can add up to quite a bit of extra fish money if you raise them in quantities.

[prolude006]

If you dont mind sending me a few assassins I would love some!!! I could use a bunch to get started and would gladly disperse them for shipping only to simply members once they multiply.
My snail population is out of control and I need some of these guys to control them. A small box and some warm weather would be perfect to get them here!!

heres hoping =)

David

[Fraise]

I probably have close to 100 of them now. What size to people gererally prefer to buy?

[Kingfisher]

I don't know much about assassin snails but if they are carnivous, then they will react like any other creature in an ecosystem. When there is an abundance in prey, their numbers will increase. Once the prey population crashes(other snails) then the numbers of assassin snails will also go down. If the assassin snails eat all the other snails, then they too will eventually die off due to starvation. UNLESS these assassin snails are omnivorous and can switch over to eating your plants :(. So your assassin snail problem should not last too long.

BTW I am not speaking from experience, im just regurgitating what I learned in Ecology while getting my Biology degree.

[Apistomaster]

Kingfisher, you are essentially correct. Assassin snails are specialized snail predators and their population growth curve will follow the classical ecological graph of their population once their food supply has been exhausted.