Assassin Snail

Author : Efrain Silva

At last, we come to the assassin snail. This peaceful, brown - with - yellow - striped little snail is a great pet, getting around an inch in size. It can last you around 2 or 3 years, so take good care of it. It eats a carnivore diet and should be housed in a 10 - gallon tank, no smaller. This little guy can still do well in a nice, friendly community aquarium.

South East Asian countries are where this little snail makes its way to you from (so yes, it has indeed been imported quite a long way — I hope it got to see a nice movie on that long flight here, heh heh). It was originally seen around some known parts of Indonesia, as well as Thailand, and even Malaysia. What a lot of snail pet owners really like about this type of creature is that it is so darn cheap — in fact, it tends to cost about $2 a piece. And if you buy several at once, perhaps a whole family in a single purchase, you can even save on costs (you always save when buying in bulk ; let that be a lesson, especially during this stressful pandemic, in which stores are running out of supply).

This type of snail, keep in mind, is not the typical shoot ‘em up cowboy style guy, ready for action at every corner ; far from it, he is slow and very calm. He shouldn’t cause much trouble for the other creatures you’ve got in the tank, if not, it might just be the other way around….watch out for putting him near really large, aggressive fish who like to provoke fights. If, however, you’ve got a fish that is smaller than this snail, and moves really, really slowly in water (believe me, they do exist), then that fish might get eaten by this guy.

What’s interesting about a snail like this one, besides what I’ve already noted? Well, did you know that this snail hides and hides darn well? In fact, its operculum will shut it off from you, serving as a sort of (dare I say, it) trap door between itself and others, protected inside its shell. Now, if you have a plant or two in there with it, it can see it in two ways — as food or as shelter. It may either hide or eat, depending on the more urgent need.

Here is a good rule of thumb, in the words of many snail experts out there — keep 2 snails for every 5 gallons of water in each tank you are using. So, in other words, a 10 - gallon tank ought to hold up to 4 snails. Neon Tetras, also, are some of the best tank mates this little snail can have, in order to live its best, happiest life.

Like what you’ve read? Get an assassin snail. Run to the store!