Will Assassin Snails Kill Nerite And Mystery Snails?

Hello,
I have a 29 gallon that is planted and has had a pest snail problem and the population has exploded. I need to get rid of them and have decided to get assasin snails. However, I have a black racer nerite snail the size of a penny roughly and a good sized mystery snail. The pest snails are all very small and I was wondering if the assasins snails will kill my nerite and mystery snails? Thanks.

 

The assassin snails will kill anything roughly their size for sure and may well kill even larger snails. The problem with assasins is that once they work through the pest - and other - snails in the tank you still can have a hundred assassins to deal with. Have you tried any of the DIY snail traps to try to reduve the population of the pest snails ?

 

They can gang up on larger snails to kill them but I have never seen it.

 

I have had a 'sacrificial' nerite in with 8 assassin snails in a tank with pest snails for a bit over six months now. The nerite is still fine and scooting around the tank just like any other nerite would. The assassins have multiplied and most of the pest snails are gone, but they have yet to go after the nerite. So its my experience with assassins that they don't really go after snails bigger than themselves.
But I'm still waiting to see if maybe they ever go after the nerite.

 

Reports are they will after the small feeder-snails are gone.

 

Thanks guys

What if I only got one assasin?

 

I believe that the best bet for pest snails is to physically remove them. Try the traps and get your hands wet. A single assassin would not keep up with a breeding population of pest snails.

 

I believe that the best bet for pest snails is to physically remove them. Try the traps and get your hands wet. A single assassin would not keep up with a breeding population of pest snails.

Ok. Just kinda difficult when they keep showing up. Do yall reccomend any specific trap?

 

I have assassins in all my tanks. And the tanks also have nerites and a couple tanks have a mystery snail. I have had this going for a couple years.

In my experience, they will only go after a large snail if there are no other food options available. AND they need to work in a group to take down a big snail. I did have it happen ONE time in a tank that was bare bottom and getting daily water changes because it was a fry tank. The pest snail population was gone, but I didn't remove the assassins right away. And I found the mystery snail with his "door" shut and 2 assassins on his door. The mystery snail was fine after I took the assassins off of him. His door protected him until I noticed. Keeping in mind, those assassins were desperate! They couldn't even find a single crumb of food to supplement the lack of little pest snails. The tank was too clean.

I can say pretty confidently that as long as there is a supply of pests, then your big snails are fine. And if you see that the assassins have managed to completely rid your tank of the pests, then you can remove the assassins and sell them or something. People pay good money for them!

Also, I disagree that you will "end up with 100s of assassins". They do produce a lot of babies, but not NEARLY as many as the pests and it is very easy to stay on top of a population of assassins. You will not get overrun with assassins.

Yes you can use traps and do things to help you remove several pests at one time, BUT....it will be a daily chore. Traps are not a way to get rid of them, its a way to try and control the population.

Personally, I like to let my assassins do the work. And they are super cute too.

Also, make sure not to overfeed the fish in the tank, that just makes the pest population worse.

 

Ok. Just kinda difficult when they keep showing up. Do yall reccomend any specific trap?

youtube" snail trap "and you will see how to put one together . Basically an empty platic bottle that you bait when you turn out the lights.

Also - please don't get me wrong , Assassins have a place too. I would just remove as many as you can first and then add a few to work on the remainder.I had a a 75 back in the day and added a dozen assassins to take care of a similar situation to yours.3 months later I literally physically removed 200 of them by hand.

 

HI guys, I'm not sure which category this goes in but it's about snails eating other snails so you guys might be able to help:

I have one nerite and two mystery snails in one tank. One of the mystery snails seems to be extremely interested in my nerite snail but not the other mystery snail. I thought it might be trying to breed with the nerite but that's apparently not possible from what I've researched. Right now, the nerite is faster than the mystery snail and climbs out of the water twice a day. My mystery snails don't leave the water. I've watched the mystery snail go from just sitting around to chasing the nerite as it passes, until there's a 4" gap between them. There's plenty of algae in the tank. Are mystery snails omnivorous or territorial? Is my nerite in danger?

Thanks for the help.

Update:

I moved the nerite snail to another tank just in case and it laid eggs on a rock! They look like little white sesame seeds. My only guess is the nerite snail was already holding a batch of eggs. Anyway, the snails are separated now so it should be ok. Though, I'm still not sure why the mystery snail was chasing the nerite snail. Any thoughts on that?

 

He got the trap door open and that was that

 

He got the trap door open and that was that

I'm sorry for your loss

 

He got the trap door open and that was that

Did he have other snails to eat?
Just wondering if I can leave my mystery snail in with the 5 small assassins I just bought.

 

Never seen it happen but my lfs has about 10 plant tanks with assassins in them and all of them have dead nerites in them. Asked the guys working there and was told they eat any snail.

 

I do have other tanks with assissans and nerite snails in and they are happy together,