Do Assassin Snails Eat Algae?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

Mayu

Fish Crazy
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
240
Reaction score
0
I was wondering if Assassin snails eat algae?

I moved my two assassins into my Blue Ram tank, with 8 of the pest snails from my other tank.. once those are gone... what else can I feed them? Bottom feeder pellets? Will they eat food the rams drop? Will they eat algae?
 
also, I've read conflicting information... Do Panda Garras eat snails? The assassin thing didn't work out. I bought 2 available assassins from my LFS and was unable to get more. So I moved them to the other tank and was thinking of getting loaches. I read Panda Garras were peaceful, don't grow too large, and eat snails...

but I read somewhere else they do not eat snails and are in fact, herbavores (only plant eaters.)

But I read somewhere else they do not eat snails, but do eat what snails eat (algae, left over food, and occassional blood worms/tubiflex worms) so they cut off the snails food supply thus killing them.

I just want these darned bladder snails to get out of my tank. Gah.
 
If you just want to get rid of the snail just stick some lettuce or other greens that your fish wont eat... then a few hours later you should have some snails on the greens and jut toss them..
 
If you just want to get rid of the snail just stick some lettuce or other greens that your fish wont eat... then a few hours later you should have some snails on the greens and jut toss them..

been there, done that... 3x

Doesn't work.

I have over 200 bladder snails in the tank... I was lucky to get, at maxiumum, 10 snails using that trick.
 
Dang, I know copper would destroy them but then you have that crap in the tank..
 
Hiya's,

Only got a lone assassin in the large tank, bought six of them to see how they got on with killing the ramshorns

But, my mothers rio 240 became infested with ramshorns so i gave her four and kept two, alas one was dead on purchasing, hence i'm down to one

Did have some free time wednesday so went to buy a dozen of the critters, hmm lovely old uk custom is to close allday wednesdays, so i drove miles to find the store shut

Anyways back on topic .............

This lone assassin has been kind enough to eat many ramshorns, what he/she seems to do is find a cluster of them against glass, then as much as i try to watch the rest is still a mystery, but the next day he has buried him/herself under the sand, but around him/her are nice empty ramshorn shells :)

He never made a dent but surely is eating the meat out from the shells :p

From googling etc i've come to the conclusion my one will deffo eat snail meat but not the shell (as they seem supposed to just eat the meat so this is fine) if no other food source is available they'll turn to food sources to sustain them, for eg: flake/pellet/algae etc etc

So from my lone assassin experience he/she sure eats snails but as for now no idea about other foods as alone he'll never erradicate the ramshorn population (monday i'll be passing the store so will pick up a dozen)

Food for thought !!

Tony
 
My two snails are eating the other snails... however, the big problem is that the other snails are multiplying faster than they can take care of.

Plus, my other tank could use the snails... so I plopped some of the pests in with the assassins. I'll just keep putting some pests in for them to eat until I can either find more assassins, or find a different way to get rid of them... like a loach or something.

I saw Panda Garras that would be perfect for the tank... but I hear conflicting stories on if they eat snails or not.
 
I was wondering if Assassin snails eat algae?
No. Like all whelks, they're opportunistic carnivores. Their diet in the wild includes not just snails but also worms and carrion. Really, anything meaty they can find.

I moved my two assassins into my Blue Ram tank, with 8 of the pest snails from my other tank.. once those are gone... what else can I feed them? Bottom feeder pellets? Will they eat food the rams drop? Will they eat algae?
Yes, they eat uneaten fish food, though as you hopefully realise overfeeding fish for the benefit of your snails isn't a good idea. In any case, the very low pH and hardness you need to keep Mikrogeophagus ramirezi alive for any length of time will be lethal to the Clea helena in the long term, so I presume you don't intend to keep them together for more than a few weeks.

Your Mikrogeophagus ramirezi need a very high temperature, around 28-30 C, and water chemistry pH 5-6, 1-3 degrees dH hardness. By contrast, your Clea helena needs not-too-warm water, 22-25 C, pH 7-8, 10+ degrees dH. So fundamentally the two species are not compatible. A quick review of the number of messages posted about sickly Mikrogeophagus ramirezi should make the point that a lot of people keep these fish badly, and consequently only for short periods!

Cheers, Neale
 
I've had my rams for over 5 months with no issues.

The tank is set at 80 degrees. All my research on the Blue Rams states that the water temps are appropriate between the 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF) range. The ideal range being between 80-81 ºF.

They've got great colors, they're fairly active and they eat well. I have done my research on these fish which is why they're still alive. I can only find limited information on assassin snails which is why I'm here.
 
I've had my rams for over 5 months with no issues.
The problem with farmed ram cichlids is that they're often "juiced" with antibiotics and hormones prior to being shipped out. There's a period of some months afterwards when they can seem quite hardy. But eventually they do become weak. The species has always been predisposed to Mycobacteria infections, but Hexamita infections are another scourge. Often what happens is that the aquarist neglects water changes for a while, nitrate levels rise, and before you know it, one of the ram cichlids starts exhibiting symptoms of one or other infection. This is so common that I get bored writing about it, and I note that Baensch was mentioning this problem more than 20 years ago, so it isn't news. But there are still newcomers to the hobby who aren't aware of the problems with ram cichlids, so shops still keep selling them. If they all vanished from the world's pet stores tomorrow, I for one wouldn't miss them.

The tank is set at 80 degrees. All my research on the Blue Rams states that the water temps are appropriate between the 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF) range. The ideal range being between 80-81 ºF.
25 C is far too cold for them; try reading a book dedicated to cichlids and you'll see than 28-30 C/82-86 F is the usual recommendation. These fish come a habitat called the llanos where they live in shallow pools in grasslands. The pools are not shaded, and consequently get very warm during the day. I note you haven't mentioned either hardness or pH, both of which are of crucial importance. If you're keeping them in water harder than 5 degrees dH and above pH 6.5, you aren't likely to have long term success. Optimal values would be 1-3 degrees dH, pH 5.5-6.5. Again, you need to make sure you're reading books by genuine experts, like Paul Loiselle. Beware of preferring "research" that supports your preconceptions while ignoring sources that don't.

They've got great colors, they're fairly active and they eat well. I have done my research on these fish which is why they're still alive. I can only find limited information on assassin snails which is why I'm here.
With respect, you've kept them alive for a few months, which means nothing. Come back after 4 years, and if they're still alive then, that'll be a whole other argument. Ram cichlids are incredibly difficult to maintain for any substantial length of time, and they need completely different conditions to Clea helena. For every one person who keeps their ram cichlids alive in a community tank for a few years, there are easily ten if not twenty aquarists who watch them die within 6 months.

Cheers, Neale
 

Most reactions

trending

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top