If you have Assassin Snails in your tank, chances are that you have found them missing for a while, and later appeared again and gone missing again, etc. Assassin Snails are carnivores Snails that only feed on other amphibian Snails. They’re cond shaped and are barely up to 3 inches in size. They are mainly kept in order to control the population or the menace of pest aquarium snails like pond snails etc. There are some reasons why they could be missing or hiding sometimes, and I believe you are here to know them, so I suggest you read this article to the end.
Do Assassin Snails hide? Yes, Assassin Snails could sometimes hide. Hiding is part of their hunting strategy.
It may sound unbelievable, but yes, it is true.
Related: Why Do Turbo Snails Burrow?
Hunting is one of the reasons they hide, but there are more reasons they do that other than hunting, and you will learn all about them in this article.
Why Is My Assassin Snails Hiding?
Sometimes you may find them missing in your tank for a few days, weeks, and even a month, and you want to know why they do that, well, here are the reasons.
1. As I mentioned above, one of the most effective hunting strategies is hiding.
Assassin Snails are killer Snails, but one disadvantage they have over other aquarium snails is speed.
Related: Can Assassin Snails live in Gravel?
Although they could kill and eat other snails and even shrimps, especially when they are hungry, they can’t usually match them in speed, and so they normally use the act of surprise as a hunting strategy.
They normally hide, burrow and bury themselves in substrates, sand, etc and lay ambush on any unsuspecting Snail that will navigate through that area, so that they could pounce on them.
This hiding or ambush strategy is very effective, and they normally use it to catch many of their prey, so if your Assassin Snails are hiding, then they are probably laying an ambush.
2. They may be hiding from predators.
They are predators, but there are other aquatic animals that could eat them too, like some fish, Turtles, Crayfish, Crabs, etc.
When such unfriendly animals are introduced in their tanks, maybe to get rid of them, they will go into hiding in any available cave, behind plants, inside gravel, and even bury themselves in the sand, etc.
The fact is, they could borrow anywhere and hide if they sense danger.
So, if yours are hiding, then you should check their tank mates to know if they are predators.
Also, they could naturally decide to stay away for a while, which they normally do sometimes.
3. Assassin snails are not asexual. They have male and female, and they need to come together to mate and produce offspring.
When they mate, the females lay eggs at the base of plants, rocks, etc, and then these eggs hatch, they will stay hidden till they are significant in size enough to come out.
Related: Do Mystery Snails like Sand?
So, it is not only the adults among them that normally hide, their infants do, and they stay hidden for a very long time before they could start coming out.
Although I can’t tell the exact reason they do that, may be natural, but they do hide in caves, gravels, and other things in the tank and stay there for weeks and even up to a month before they start making some significant appearances.
4. Again another reason why they do hide sometimes is, that it is part of their nature.
As I mentioned above, they could sometimes hide for no reason. Stay hidden for weeks, and will only surface once they want to eat.
We know that snails, including Assassin Snails, could sometimes go into hibernation, especially in the wild.
So, this might probably be the case of your assassin snails, or they are at least having a short nap.
5. All aquarium Snails are nocturnal, this means, they don’t just move about in the daytime or with bright light in position, so they prefer to hide until it is dark.
All Snails normally do their hunting and other activities at the night or when it is dark, so, you might think they are hiding because you are probably checking them at the wrong time, which is in the daytime or if you have a bright light set up in their tank.
So, there is no way they could come out in such conditions, being nocturnal animals.
So, these are some of the reasons why your assassin Snails may seem to be hiding.
6. Lastly, they may have found a way out of the tank and have escaped.
They are very active at night, so if the tank lid is not well covered, chances are that you might find them missing one day because they do climbing on the tank and escape.
Do Assassin Snails Burrow?
Yes, Assassin Snails are fond of digging the substrates and hiding in them. You may not see them, but the only way you could know that they are still in the tank is by seeing empty shells of other snails they ate.
As I mentioned above, they are cannibals, meaning, they only survive by eating other Snails they could be able to kill.
They have an organ known as Radula, which they use to harm other animals like Snails and shrimps by plugging it in them and sucking off their blood and flesh, thereby weakening their prey and killing them.
So, many times, they do hide in order to lay ambush on an unsuspecting snail or shrimp that may pass through that route.
So, they do burrow from time to time. and hide in there.
Do Assassin Snails Go Dormant?
Yes, Assassin Snails will sometimes go dormant, especially when they hibernate. Sometimes, when they eat a large meal, they will just go to the nearest substrate, burrow on it and hide there in order to sleep or hibernate.
This is the reason so many hobbyists, especially newbies do think that their Snails are either dead or might have escaped from the tank.
Related: 7 reasons why Turbo Snails could stop moving
Well, no. They often bury themselves in the sand, gravel, inside caves, etc to have a long nap, and will only appear again when they are in serious need of a meal.
So they go dormant from time to time as a result of this.
Do Assassin Snails Come Out At Night?
Assassin Snails, just like every other aquatic Snail are nocturnal, they don’t operate during the day, but rather at night.
Being nocturnal means, they go dormant during the day because they don’t normally see. very clearly when it is bright or with a bright light.
Related: Do Mystery Snails like Light?
So they normally go into hiding in caves, substrates, etc when it is daytime and will resurface and become active again when it is dark.
So they come out at night and operate and go back into hiding when it is bright.
All snails do this, including land snails too, because, all snails are nocturnal.
Are Assassin Snails Active?
Assassin Snails are very active Snails. Although they are slow, but they do go around the tank hunting for food, and places to hide.
Their ability to search around the tank and looks for other snails to eat and disturbing substances is what makes them active.
So, Assassin Snails are very active Snails.
Conclusion
Assassin Snails are very good at hiding, and they do hide for the reasons I explained above.
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