Assassin Snail Care Guide

Snails are quite popular for home aquariums nowadays. However, certain snail species can become pests if introduced without your consent, for example as hitchhikers on plants. When trying to remove these, your first thought should be to use assassin snails.

It might not make the most sense to add snails when you want to clear them out, but assassins are carnivores and will snack on your pests until they’re eradicated.

You’ll get an attractive, stripy species that won’t eat any of your plants, so they’re not just for people with a pest problem.

If you’re looking for some new tank mates to mix it up from just keeping fish, assassins are a great option.

The assassin snail (Clea helena) is a freshwater snail belonging to the Buccinidae family.

The term “whelk” is given to a few snail species from a variety of families, but the Buccinidae family contains the “true whelks”; a carnivorous group of snails.

Their name comes from their carnivorous diet choices. They enjoy eating other small snails. They’re native to southeast Asia, living in lakes and rivers throughout countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Their popularity in home aquariums has caused them to spread as an invasive species, with worries that they’ll spread further.

This is a relatively simple species to look after. If you can keep the tank clean, they’ll happily get on with things on their own. You shouldn’t need much experience to keep a group of them.

You won’t have to pay much to get them either. A single snail will cost around $2, but you can usually get them cheaper if you buy a few of them at once.

When buying an Assassin Snail, check that it is alive and healthy. Look at the shell for signs of damage or strange markings.

Be sure that you’re only bringing home this species and not introducing some pests to your aquarium as well.

If kept in a healthy environment with a good supply of nutritious foods, Assassin Snails could live for 2-3 years. The breed easily, so a population will last as long as you want in your aquarium.

People often want to add snails to their tank because they’re great at clearing up algae. If you’re one of these people then this species isn’t for you, since assassin snails are strictly carnivorous. The service that they provide instead is the removal of any pest snail species. Assassins will eat small snails with little thought.