Can a snail live inside a filter?

[senemedar]

Keeping in mind that there is no stupid question...

I have a pests snail infestation recently, and I can see more and more of them inside my filter (it's a Aqua One's original filter that rests on top of the tank).
So my question is - if I put an Assassin Snail inside the filter bucket - would it survive there? Do they need to be totally under water or just the moisture inside the filter be enough for him to survive (there's a plenty of water inside the box anyway, so it would be submerged anyway)? And finally - would just eating the pests snail be enough for it, or it would need more food of some sort?

In the picture the filter in question

 

[KaylNeko]

If there are pest snails to eat, that's all they need.

I would just put the assassin in the tank. There are probably other pest snails for him to munch on there, and if you see snails in the filter when you check it, you can pick them out and either toss them in the tank for the assassin, or squish'em and feed them to your fish. He may be okay in the filter, but since mine has never wandered into the filter as far as I can tell, and the fact that they prefer to burrow, I wouldn't try him in the filter itself.

 

[senemedar]

I see your point... I was thinking like that, because there's really lots and lots of them.
How many Assassin Snails can you have in the 165 litres tank then? I've two of them and it looks like they getting overwhelmed by the pests snails...

 

[KaylNeko]

Try 4--one per ten gallons, and decrease you're feeding a bit for a while. With any luck, you'll get some baby assassins as time goes on to help battle it out with the pests.

 

[siva]

I agree putting them in the tank is best. One may be able to survive in the filter but it's not a great idea. If there aren't many snails in the tank at any given time, and there isn't leftovers from the fish, I would supplement with a sinking pellet/wafer. If you can see pest snails in the tank though, it shouldn't be necessary to supplement.

 

[senemedar]

I cut down the feeding a bit as you suggested, and already see less snails. I also changed the method-- instead of dropping everything at once, I take three or four turns with flakes, so it won't drop on the bottom as before, but they catch more of floating ones.
I still feel bad though, like I'm starving my little friends