sNail questions!

Got some redish brown "ram horn" snails thriving in both planted tanks. Are they good or bad snails? Should I ASSASSINATE them?

I also have a large mystery snail so if I was to introduce assassin snails I would need to know if it was safe.
Do mystery snails need a mate multiply?


If I have a large amount of MTS and Ramhorns could I use a single assassin snail to keep them in check since assasins need 2 to breed (or so I read).

That depends on what you mean by bad You won't be able to get rid of rams entirely without sanitizing the tank. Assassins will help keep the population in check, but so will limited feeding and / or manual removal a few hours after dumping some sinking food into the tank.

Mystery snails have trap doors which supposedly keep them safe from assassins, but I never tried keeping them together.

Yes, mystery snails require both sexes to reproduce. I've never been able to sex them, but other folks have.

Yes, assassins also require both sexes to reproduce (I think... possibly just another one, but at least 2 regardless). A single assassin likely won't be enough. Don't worry about rampant assassin reproduction - they breed and grow pretty slowly. Plus you can sell them

Thank you for your input pbmax. 1 thing I've learned in the last month is NOT OVER FEEDING! I had a couple other issues pop up due to this. I was so used to feeding glutinous monster fish-I kind of carried that thought process over to dwarf fish. Anyway , I've fixed that. I do like snails just don't wish to get over ran with them nor do I want my plants get gobbled up.

Ill definitely watch the populations.

I have ramshorns in my planted aquariums and I love them. They won't eat healthy plants and they'll eat all the dead leaves and extra fish food that might rot in the tank. The only problem is if you have a plant that is struggling, they might finish it off. You'll only have as many snails as there is food for them to eat. They usually don't lay eggs unless they're well fed.

Good to know Squimteben. I can always use extra clean up crew. Plants are rocking right now, perhaps 1 reason I don't have any decay is because of the snails. I poured a big bag of MTS in the tank p/u from GSAS auction. I see them crawling all over the place.

MTS are my favorite pest snails by far They make beautiful shells and keep the substrate happy for you.