# assassin snail question



## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I have 2 3/4 inch assassin snails in my 29 gallon. I am overrun with mts but they ahve done a very good job with them. I finished up my water change a while back. I was doing a gravel vac and I go deep into it. I almost buried one of them. I am now worried about burying them when I'm doing a water change. I have a 5 gallon tank with only a betta and a few mystery snails and a few ramshorn snails. I could easily move them over to another tank. I could then move the assassin snails toe the 5 gallon and move over a handful of mts when they run out of mts to eat. Should I move them or should I just be much more careful when I am doing gravel vacs?


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## vreugy (May 1, 2013)

No problem. They bury themselves most of the time. I think maybe they "sneak up" on snails this way.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

They'll be fine


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Thank you for putting my worries to rest .


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Yep Assassin snails like to burrow into the substrate.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

So if I were to bury them by accident them they could get themselves out?


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Yes, as they burrow naturally


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yep, its a natural thing.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

That explains why I can only find one fo them at a time most of the time.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

I normally find the babies when I disturb the gravel


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

How long does it take for a baby to appear? I am curious to see if I have a m/f pair.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Well, the assassin snails are now in the 5 gallon.. The reason is because my 29 gallon cracked. Sigh....


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## junebug (Jun 17, 2015)

Assuming you have both a male and female whelk, the assassin snail reproduces very slowly, and only when there is abundant food and the conditions are right for reproduction. You could easily have a m/f pair for their entire lives and never see any young from them. They are not actually a snail and therefore don't reproduce as easily as most aquarium snails will.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

So it's a whelk and not a snail?


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Whelk is normally the common name for sea snails. 

Assassin snails-Clea helena are in the Buccinidae family but not considered a true whelk as they are a freshwater snail


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## junebug (Jun 17, 2015)

Assassin Snails in the Aquarium

They are definitely whelks. Same family, same name. Whelk is also not a necessarily a common name, it is the name scientists use to describe all of the creatures within that family, the same way that they use the terms rivulines, killifish and livebearers (also not necessarily common names) to describe all of the Poeciliiads.

Regardless, they reproduce very slowly and the chances of you having a m/f pair are fairly low with only two snails in the tank.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Tks for the link. I agree with the first line.

The Assassin Snail (Clea helena) has been welcomed by fishkeepers as the single best all-around snail-killing animal in the hobby.



I love these things. They do take awhile to get a population going, but you'll only need 1 or two to keep a tank virtually snail free.
(edit) Tks again for the article. Article contradicts my above statement.  If I recall, I purchased ~ 10 or 20. It did take some time to eliminate the MTS I had, probably took the AS population a while to grow before it was able to eliminate the mts population.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Here is a quote form the first paragraph form that link "The Assassin Snail is very different. It is small, completely harmless towards fish and shrimps, and generally very easy to keep. It is also very pretty, bright yellow with chocolate brown stripes." They have actually been known to attack and kill cherry shrimp. Just though I would point that out.


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