Live freshwater snails

The freshwater assassin snail is typically found throughout southeast Asia, ranging from Malaysia to Thailand. They are also found on the island of Sumatra in Lake Toba. Assassin snails do not have a preferred body of water–they are found in many types of freshwater streams, ponds, and smaller ditches–but favour a soft substrate to bury themselves in. As a small carnivorous snail species, assassin snails hide until food is sensed and don’t tend to feed on any plants around them. Usually, these snails are least active around midday but will emerge specifically to eat. Their conical, yellow, and dark brown striped shell makes the assassin snail an attractive small addition to any aquarium and earns them the bumblebee name. Occasionally, their shell may lack stripes, but this is rare. They can grow to a maximum size of around 1.25 inches (3.2 cm), although this seems to vary depending on the amount of food available and size of the aquarium. Because of this, the maximum size of assassins in the wild is often larger. This is also one of the few snails that you don’t have to worry about your plants getting eaten, as greens are not part of their natural diet! This makes assassin snails ideal for any small planted aquarium with community fish that won’t try to pick at them. It is also not recommended to knowingly house assassins with other snails, especially their favourite treats: trumpet snails (Melanoides tuberculata) and ramshorn snails (Planorbarius corneus).