Anentome helena

About

Assassin Snail in a shrimp aquarium

While in nature in a larger body of water the Assassin Snail is not the most spectacular of specimens, since they only measure about 30mm in height when fully grown, the snail is very much loved in freshwater aquariums around the world. As their name suggests, these carnivores actually hunt their prey and that prey consists of other snails.

They find and stalk freshwater snails using their trunk. To kill another snail they get close to them and insert their proboscis, a feeding tube, into the other snail's shell. They use a poison to paralyze the prey and liquify it over time to then slurp up the nutrition later on. They can be seen hiding in sand and gravel to ambush snails they have set their eyes on and don't eat constantly. A large snail can last them for a few days. When they are not hunting and feeding they bury themselves in the soil, close their operculum, a trapdoor that can be sealed tight, and rest.

As far as hunting and killing goes, these snails are so efficient, that they can manage the snail population of smaller aquariums completely on their own. That poses a big risk for all sorts of wildlife when they are introduced to bodies of water outside of their natural habitat in South East Asia. They can decimate whole populations of fresh water snails before detected.

Slideshow

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Observations

In captivity

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Deceased

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