I Give In : Snails for me

[Lynnzer]

I am infested with bladder snails in a couple of tanks still and have lately put Assassins in to assist.
However I feel that I need some snails to browse on the biofilm and algae. Are there any snails that could safely be introduced alongside the Assassins? I know some of them are quite large so perhaps a cuple of these at adult sizes?

 

[Beastije]

Overall consensus on this is a resolute no. Some people have mystery snails or rabbits in super large tanks with one or two assassins and have no issues, some have seen the assassins target the larger snails, team up and kill them within 24 hours. Nerites stand no chance for some reason, maybe the speed.

Assassin snails are a poor way how to get rid of pest snails, since the pest snails are there for a reason, and the reason is always, overfeeding and poor maintenance and they are easily fixed

 

[Slaphppy7]

Overall consensus on this is a resolute no. Some people have mystery snails or rabbits in super large tanks with one or two assassins and have no issues, some have seen the assassins target the larger snails, team up and kill them within 24 hours. Nerites stand no chance for some reason, maybe the speed.

Assassin snails are a poor way how to get rid of pest snails, since the pest snails are there for a reason, and the reason is always, overfeeding and poor maintenance and they are easily fixed

My 10G tank is well maintained, fish are fed every 2 or 3 days, an amount they can eat in about 5 minutes, and it is inundated with MTS...so no, overfeeding is not always a factor with pest snails populating fish tanks.

 

[Beastije]

My 10G tank is well maintained, fish are fed every 2 or 3 days, an amount they can eat in about 5 minutes, and it is inundated with MTS...so no, overfeeding is not always a factor with pest snails populating fish tanks.

Ok, then lets say abundance of organic materials

If the snail has nothing to eat, it dies. If there are snails, they have something to eat. Plant matter, dead animals, algae, leftover fish food, rotting matter in the substrate

I have 3 tanks, and the only one where I have any abundance of pest snails is the one where I dont do water changes and has algae I am growing for shrimp. I am hard pressed to find any snails in other tanks, so if I see one from the shrimp tank I move it to the other tanks to help with the cleanup. I have MTS in all my tanks, they are never overpopulated, I check during the night, my 360l has barely 200 MTS at their peak and you cant see them during the day and that is not overpopulated (since they are not seen)

 

[Lynnzer]

The tank in question here is one where I had a massive infestation several weeks ago. I mean MASSIVE.
I took all the plants out, I took the filter out and I gave the tank several doses of Gastropex which is supposed to be the ultimate killer. I double dosed, they were still there. I triple dosed and I saw some improvement. I left the tank for a good while, at least a fortnight. Then I emptied the tank except for the substrate gravel, no actual soil, just gravel. It then stood empty for ages.
I can probably admit to overfeeding the previous inhabitants which contributed to this problem, however I filled the tank, cycled it again and put just 2 endlers in it. I give them hardly anything to eat. In fact I drop in whiteworms from time to time as they don't get overlooked and are immediately seized upon.
So feeding is not the problem here. Yet the damn things are alive and swarming again, probably from eggs that were in the damp substrate that may not have dried.
I have put 2 assassin snails in the tank, which by the way is one I am using basically as a breeding tank measuring 40cm x 25cm. Not big at all.
So my ambition is to kill every last bladder snail even though I don't use the tank for display purposes. I JUST HATE THE DAMN THINGS.
I guess I'll have to empty the tank out, bleach it and start again.
But surely there must be a snail species that is tough enough to withstand assassins.

 

[outofwater]

I am infested with bladder snails in a couple of tanks still and have lately put Assassins in to assist.
However I feel that I need some snails to browse on the biofilm and algae. Are there any snails that could safely be introduced alongside the Assassins? I know some of them are quite large so perhaps a cuple of these at adult sizes?

Per personal experience, I have had, since day one, an assassin, a nerite and a mystery, all 3 living in the same community tank (29g) and no issues. The assassin disappears for weeks, then shows up again as if to remind me that he's there and not to panic and dig up the sand looking for his carcass.

From what I've read and talked with others, only when you have at least 3 or more assassins, would they even consider tackling a larger snail, which I find fascinating because it shows some level of cooperation and coordination that at least I wouldn't have expected from snails.

 

[Colin_T]

Assassin snails assassinate other snails. full stop.

Add more plants or reduce lighting to control algae. If you really want something to deal with algae and have lots of plants, maybe ad a small suckermouth catfish like a bristlenose