Assassin snail questions

[Boogety48]

I have developed a snail problem and I'm thinking about getting a couple assassin snails but I have some questions first.

How big do they get?
If they eat all the snails what do I feed them after that?
Is there going to be empty snail shells all over my tank?
Is there anything special I need to do for them or are they ok to just be in my community tank? (do they require special pH, any salt, things like that)

Anything else I think to ask I'll post. Thank you in advance for any answers.

 

[marsh]

+1

I just added an assassin snail and have similar questions, especially about feeding it once the hitchhiker snails have all been eaten...

 

[hcourts]

My assassins eat the snails and I have not had to feed anything I normally don't feed my bottom feeders. I have never seen them eating the veggie discs I put in. I do however have empty shells littered around my tank the don't get big either.

 

[hpiguy]

Specifics:

Tropical Freshwater Inverts for Freshwater Aquariums: Assassin Snail, Clea helena

As far as what they eat, they'll eat any left over food after snails are gone. If there is a lot of left over food they will sometimes not even hunt other snails and just scavenge excess food most of the time since it's way easier.

 

[Boogety48]

Thank you. That helps me a lot. I was worried about getting them lol.

 

[bob mccoy]

what i do if there's to many snails is to get a 4 inch clay pot. then i mix up some flake food and water stir it real good and soak the clay pot in it for 2 hrs. then i place it in the tank and wait . as soon as its covered with snails i pull it out and dispose of them and repeat the process. my 30 gallon took three times with the pot and all are gone and no left over messy snail shells to clean up.

 

[Laser]

My assassin snails swarm shrimp pellets that I drop in the tank. They're pretty fast for snails, but I suppose they have to be.

 

[Boogety48]

I'll have to try that clay pot trick. I've got them pretty bad though. They're in my filter but if you can get them out of a 30 gal I can get them out of my 20 that way.

 

[hpiguy]

Using a piece of blanched lettuce or zuchinni at night also works to draw nuisance snails out. Put it in at night and take it out in the morning and toss it when the snails cover it.