Assassin snails in jar

[GoldeenTrix9898]

I had always wanted some MTS in my Betta tank, so I went to the goldfish market nearby and one of the shop owners was very happy to give me a literal bag full of MTS. She seemed to have a tank that was infested with them. But when I opened the bag at home, I found two assassin snails hitching a ride. Apparently the store owner was using assassin snails and accidentally scooped two up. I don't want the assassins eating up the MTS, so I don't want to put them in my Betta tank.

I went out and bought a large jar and set it up like I would set up an aquarium, without a heater and a filter of course. I snagged some plants from my Betta tank and stuffed those in there too. I want to know if it's possible to keep the assassin snails this way. I've grown to like them and I'm prepared to do daily water changes and general maintenance on this jar as necessary. I've thrown in a protein wafer as food and will be going out tmr to get some bloodworms.

Also, the assassin snails seem to like to climb around just below the water line，is this normal?

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[RadMax8]

You might as well toss the assassins in the tank. MTS are prolific breeders, and can have a population explosion. I doubt two assassins will kill all your MTS, but I could be wrong.


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[GoldeenTrix9898]

You might as well toss the assassins in the tank. MTS are prolific breeders, and can have a population explosion. I doubt two assassins will kill all your MTS, but I could be wrong.


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I know that MTS can breed so much they turn into pests, but I didn't toss them all into my Betta tank, only about 8. The rest I gave to my friend, she has a planted macrobrachium shrimp tank. I'm pretty sure 2 assassins will make short work of 8 MTS.

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[Gillie]

Mts will only get out of control if you over feed and slack on maintenance, but you'll need to toss a few snails or bloodworms in with the assassins to keep them feed.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

Right, an update:

I have put the assassin snails back into the tank. A jar like this no matter how well cared for seems impossible to maintain. I did daily water changes and constant monitoring, but the water parameters quickly went wacky. I never left food in for more than 1 hr, but the water stunk. Worms also appeared on the sides of the jars, not sure what kind, could be planaria. The ammonia wouldn't go away no matter what I did. I don't even know what was causing the ammonia spikes. Can 2 assassin snails cause the ammonia to go from 0 to .9 in 8 hrs? Pretty sure it's not rotting food.


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