Assassin Snail, scientific name Anentome Helena also referred to as Bumblebee Snail is a freshwater gastropod mollusk native to Southeast Asia.
A particular characteristic of those invertebrates is their predatory way of life. The basis of the diet of Assassin Snail is made up of different small snails, which they eat, actually “sucking” from the sink.
Small aquarium snails, akin to ramshorn snails or Melanoides, can enter any aquarium together with crops or decorations. There are a number of methods to cope with these undesirable visitors – mechanical assortment, particular preparations in opposition to snails, and many others.
But the organic technique remains to be thought of as the best and protected means, such as lowering the inhabitants of undesirable snails with the assistance of a predator mollusk – the Assassin Snail.
Assassin Snail Facts
Care Level: Easy
Diet: Carnivorous
Family: Buccinidae
Minimum Tank Size: 10 Gallons
Tank Set-Up: Sandy Substrates, Adaptable
Temperament: Peaceful
Color Form: Brown and Yellow Stripes
Lifespan: 2-3 Years
Size: 1 inch
Compatibility: Community Aquarium
General information
Assassin Snails are fairly stunning, their tiger shade from alternating light and darkish stripes look spectacular. However, the looks of aquarists who plant these mollusks in their aquarium fade into the background.
The primary worth is Assassin Snail’s love for consuming little brothers, which permits wonderful control over the variety of quickly breeding “weed” snails (akin to ramshorn snails, Physa, and Melanoides).
This is a great option to do away with undesirable visitors without manually gathering and utilizing specialized medication.
Assassin Snail Appearance
The murderer snails are small in size, the most important people not often exceed 2 cm. These mollusks have an elongated conical shell with a ribbed floor.
It is adorned with alternating stripes – yellow and black. The body itself is grey with dots. Near the mouth of the snail is a small partition that permits them to shut their entrance in case of a hazard.
Anentome Helena’s leg is kind of long, with it assists this invertebrate strikes rapidly. When shifting, a long respiratory tube can be clearly seen.
The mouth has an uncommon construction: it’s modified right into a small proboscis, with the assistance of which the snails penetrate the sufferer’s shell and suck out the mollusk positioned in it.
The average lifespan of Assassin Snail in an aquarium is 2 years.
Habitat
Assassin Snails aren’t widespread in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia). They may be discovered each in rivers with clear operating water and in lakes.
Snails stay at shallow depths. The substrate is the most popular sandy or silty.
Assassin Snail Care and Maintenance
Keeping Assassin Snail within the house aquarium will not be troublesome as these snails are hardy and simple to take care of.
Mollusks, attributable to their size, can stay in aquariums with a quantity of 3-5 liters (per particular person), however, the capability of 15-20 liters will likely be most optimum.
Particular consideration has to be paid to the soil. It is greatest to remain on coarse sand or high-quality rounded pebbles as much as 2 mm in size.
This is because of the truth that after feeding, These snails have a behavior of partially digging into the ground. “Soft” substrates won’t harm the fragile integument of those mollusks.
To guarantee clear water and preserve snug surroundings, the aquarium must be outfitted with a filter and compressor.
The temperature regulator doesn’t damage, as a result of the snails are thermophilic and most lively at a water temperature of 23-27 ° C.
In aquariums with Anentome Helena, you’ll be able to plant any sort of aquarium crops as these snails are utterly detached from them.
Assassin Snail shouldn’t be saved in very smooth or acidic water. Lack of minerals and elevated acidity adversely have an effect on the event of the shell. The optimum values are: GH = 8-15, pH = 7.0-8.0.
Snails are utterly freshwater, there is no such thing as a need so as to add salt to the water. It is strongly not beneficial to make use of preparations containing copper in an aquarium with Bumblebee Snail, as a result of it’s dangerous to aquarium invertebrates.
Assassin Snail Compatibility
Choosing tank mates in a typical aquarium for Assassin Snail will not be essentially the most troublesome activity. Any ornamental fish, be it tetras, zebrafish, or barbs, get alongside nicely with snails. There is a typical false impression that these predatory snails are capable of assault and eat fish.
Fortunately, the pace and agility of Assassin Snail will not be sufficient to hunt fish. The most that they will do is gnaw on the corpse of a useless fish.
It will not be beneficial to maintain these snails with small shrimps, freshly molted younger crustaceans that have simply molted out can get her for lunch.
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Do not preserve Assassin Snails in an aquarium with predatory cichlids, these fish typically don’t thoughts consuming small snails. And in fact, it’s necessary to exclude from the listing of cohabitants fish species that feed on snails like Pea Puffer Fish, Clown loach, and many others.
The Assassin Snails themselves are harmful to different species of small snails ( ramshorn snails or Melanoides, and many others.). There must be no compatibility issues with adult snails ( Ampullaria Snail, neritina snail, and many others ), These snails not often assault a sufferer that exceeds them in size.
In the natural habitat, Assassin Snails feed on different snails or carrion.
Most typically, Anentome Helena is saved into the aquarium to be able to destroy extremely multiplying small snails – they are going to make up their diet for some time. When looking for prey, These snails select completely different ways. In some instances, they pursue their sufferer, in others, they ambush and wait patiently.
If all of the “weedy” mollusks are eaten or they don’t seem to be within the aquarium, then Anentome Helena can’t do without further feeding. Since the snail is a predator, it wants high-protein meals.
Benefits and Harm
Assassin Snails are extraordinarily wholesome mollusks that do no hurt within the aquarium. But their advantages are enormous as a result of they rapidly sufficient assist aquarists do away with extreme inhabitants of small aquarium snails.
At the identical time, they’re peaceable, don’t contact fish and different massive snails, and are additionally detached from aquatic crops.
Assassin Snail Breeding
Reproduction of Assassin Snails within the aquarium will not be a difficult activity, however surprisingly long. Yes, and particular fertility from these mollusks cannot be anticipated. Snails are dioecious, however, to differentiate the male from the feminine in look doesn’t work.
Therefore, you’ll have to preserve a good group to extend the possibilities of meeting heterosexual people. An attention-grabbing truth is that the Assassin Snails after pairing are saved shut to one another.
At the end of the mating process, the feminine lays eggs on a strong substrate, just like transparent cubes with a yellow ball inside. Incubation takes 20-30 days and largely relies on the temperature of the water.
After hatching, younger Assassin Snails burrow into the ground, the place they spend the next six months. They will seem within the light solely after they develop as much as 3-5 mm. Read more about hoodwinker-sunfish.