Assassin Snails

[bigcheed]

ok ive been keeping assassins for around 8 months now. they have layed eggs everywhere in my tank. but ive never had any baby snails. the eggs never hatch and ive had a problem with them making the stems of my plants rot when they start to break down. ive decided I want to move them to another tank and put in my nerite snails instead. can anyone advise on weather this would be safe or not. and also why ive never had any baby assassins. thanks.

 

[bodge99]

Hello,
 
I have several hundred assassin snails in various tanks... I also keep a 50l tank for "other" snails.. These I let breed as food for the assassins... I've found that the assassins will "take out" and eat any other snail that I've tried as food very quickly...
 
If you are not getting any eggs hatching, then I'd say that either something is eating the eggs or something is missing in their parents diet.
I use vegetable matter as well as other snails as food.
 
It could also be that your (fish) feeding regime is very closely matched to your stock requirements (obviously what we are all normally aiming for) and there is nothing left for the assassins...
 
Just a thought...
 
Bodge99

 

[bigcheed]

interesting. I rarely put in veggies. I have an apple snail in the same tank and ammano shrimp. I put algae wafers in for them every other day. I have seen the assassins feed on them from time to time. ive never seen my fish eat the eggs though. I always see fresh eggs in different places. but gave up watching them ages ago as nothing ever happens with them. think ill risk moving them and start giving them some cucumber like my shrimps and nerites. thanks advice. bodge99.

 

[laurac94]

They could be hatching and staying in the substrate, mine did for a good few months after hatching until they were bigger (I saw a few teeny weeny ones)
I feed my pleco peas so they might be feeding on those aswel as the pond snails I breed for them ;-)

Are snails one gender? Maybe you have all male or all female lol ;-) not sure how that area works ;-)

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I don't do anything special for mine and there are loads of them.  I never see any hatch but some time later if I am watching I can spot some the size of the tip of a pen in my gravel.  They seem to spend ages in there before being able to be seen easily. 
 
Here is a picture of the first ever one I spotted.... my pinky finger was in the photo for size comparison.