How Many Assassin Snail

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benzjamin13

benzjamin13

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My 6g is getting a bit carried away with some hitchhiker snails. I was thinking of getting some Assassin Snails, but I also have RCS and Amano Shrimp. I heard that some times, they'll go after them. Are my Shrimp safe? If they are, how many Assassins do I need to keep the other snails in check?
 
Good question but difficult answer.

I bought 10 adult assassins for my heavily infested with pond snails 30G tank. One year later, I still have the occasional pond snail & the assassins have multiplied profusely.

I have seen it suggested that the assassins have their own tank and you transfer the pest snails to that tank. I found that a pain so I just remove the assassins as they multiply and sell them at my local fish club meetings.

I do have assassins in tanks with ghost shrimp and Red Cherry shrimp but have not noticed any predation of the shrimp, maybe because of the large number of pond snails.

BTW, I am using very fine sand in all my tanks. The assassins enjoy burying themselves and assist in stirring up the sand. I harvest my excess assassins using a small kitchen strainer to scoop up the sand & sift out the snails. This method works great for me.

Hope this helps.
 
They do a pretty good job of keeping the population down. I'd say 5 should do it for your tank. I cannot confirm or deny the shrimp thing. I had some Amano shrimp in my planted tank that disappeared. I couldn't say that they assassins were the cause, but can say that they weren't.
 
I have 5 assassins in my 75 they got some of my ghost shrimp ( saw them eating them )and the got my clams too 4 smiling clams
 
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