Just like you and I, assassin snails have a specific temperature range that is necessary for their survival. When it exceeds this range or fails to meet it by a huge margin, the snail will die. It’s crucial to ensure that your pets are comfortable and not subjected to adverse temperatures to prevent them from dying or suffering illnesses during their time with you.
Assassin snails cannot survive in cold water. The water temperature that they can prevail in is 70 – 80°F with the optimal point being 75°F. So, the coldest water temperature an assassin snail will survive comfortably in is 70° – 74°F. For the living conditions to be “cold”, it means the temperature has gone under 50°F, which is simply fatal for their species.
The Actual Temperature Of Assassin Snails’ Natural Habitat
Assassin snails are native to southeast Asian regions where the climate ranges from a room temperature of 40° to 85° Fahrenheit at extreme ends. However, water bodies like rivers and lakes maintain a stable temperature of 70° – 80° F which is suitable for assassin snails.
You’d find them in deltas and water bodies where the water flow maintains a medium current. When the temperature is too cold, the killer snails burrow into the substrate, which has been filtered by the current into smooth sand or mud, to regulate their body temperature.
The 5 Effects Of Extreme Temperatures On Assassin Snails
Colder and warmer temperatures affect assassin snails differently, even within the suitable range of 70° – 80° F. It’s crucial to understand these differences so that you are aware of the changes your snail goes through. This in turn enables you to provide the best care for your killer pets all through.
1. Reduced Activity
Once an assassin snail encounters extreme temperatures, say the water is too cold (below 70°F) or too hot (above 80°F), it will become lethargic and restrained to itself. You’d find it moving around way less than it normally would to conserve its energy. This is due to the metabolic changes the snail will go through to stabilize its internal temperature and survive.
2. Metabolic Problems
The fluctuation in activity is a direct result of the difference in metabolism experienced by the snails. Colder temperatures reduce metabolism, which in turn translates to less activity. And hotter temperatures lead to increased metabolic activity which burns energy faster than they consume, causing depletion. Either way, the activity of your assassin snails in these conditions is affected negatively.
3. Declined Reproduction
Assassin snails reproduce when the temperature is warmer ( 75° – 80° F). When their natural habitat is too cold, they simply cease reproduction until the warmer season comes around. Your assassin snail can cease breeding under your care if the tank is too cold for them. The sassy snails can in fact refuse to breed throughout their lives if the aquarium fails to meet their standards.
4. Loss Of Appetite
A decrease in metabolism will relatively decrease your assassin snail’s appetite and an increase will cause them to eat more accordingly. Some aquarists use this to their advantage, tweaking the temperature either to encourage the assassins to eat more pest snails or to eat less in an attempt to save cohabitants in the tank. As long as it does not exceed the temperature range, your killer snails will be fine eating less or more.
5. Thermal Intolerance
Assassin snails have a temperature range they can handle before it becomes fatal. They are hardy and may survive a few degrees below 70°F and fewer degrees above 80°F. When their home becomes too cold, their thermal tolerance dwindles. This affects resistance depending on the individual snails and later leads to death. Usually, the juveniles die off before the adult snails. In the end, even adults die off leaving the hardiest of them all.
The Dangers Of Cold Temperatures On Assassin Snails
If your aquarium is too cold for assassin snails, they will suffer to function properly in such conditions. It’s similar to moving to the North Pole when you’ve only known warmer climates all your life— you’d struggle to fit in! From your assassin snail’s perspective, here are the dangers of a cold living environment:
Malnutrition
If the aquarium is too cold, your assassin snails will struggle with metabolism thus leading to indigestion and malnutrition. This in turn affects the snail’s growth, the quality of its shell, and its general lifespan. Stunted growth is usually experienced in malnourished snails, and is also a result of the inability to digest food as necessary in cases of extremely cold temperatures.
Inability To Breed
Assassin snails only breed in acceptably warm temperatures. When the tank is too cold, your killer snails will prefer to keep to themselves and preserve their energy instead of copulating or breeding. They are wired to understand that a decline in temperature brings about scarcity and more mouths to feed if they reproduce. If you’re seeking to breed assassin snails for profit, you must maintain a temperature of 76° – 80° F. This encourages mating and egg-laying among the snails.
Lack Of “Killer” Activity
It must be frustrating to have an invasive snail problem only to bring in the famous assassin snails and have them dwindle around without dealing with the invasion. This mostly happens in cold tanks where the killer snails prefer to preserve their energy instead of hunting down prey. They will dig into the substrate and sleep more often than usual, leaving the pest snails untouched.
It’s possible that your thermostat or thermometer is broken, and you have been reading the wrong temperature all this while. That could explain why your assassin snails are refusing to hunt despite the water parameters being correct, or so you thought.
How Do I Warm Up My Aquarium? The Solution To Cold Tanks For Assassin Snails
If you live in areas that experience long winters, chances are you have a tough time maintaining the aquarium temperature to meet your snail’s needs. Either that, or you’re a newbie wondering how to manage the situation. Well, I’ve got you covered in that aspect.
The solution is to introduce a heating source. Similar to using fireplaces to warm up your home, aquariums have heaters for the same purpose! There are two main types of aquarium heaters: submersible (view on Amazon) and external heaters (view on Amazon).
Submersible heaters are mostly used by beginners or small to average-sized aquariums, say below 50 gallons thanks to their ease of installation while external heaters suit aquariums above 50 gallons. In the end, it ultimately depends on preference. For either category, there are heaters tailored to meet your needs. Despite the rule of thumb, you can find external heaters for small aquariums and submersible heaters for large ones.
More non-negotiable items are a reliable thermostat (view on Amazon) and a simple but accurate thermometer to measure the activity of your aquarium heater and prevent your poor snails from turning into soup! Some heaters come with built-in thermostats (view on Amazon) while others don’t. However, I prefer using a separate thermostat to ensure my snail tank is not overheating.
Like many others, I was once a victim of an overheated tank due to a weak heater-thermostat combo. My snails went haywire and took a whole week to adjust to the inconvenience. Luckily, none died and I was able to revive the tank. Now, this is not a common occurrence. A broken thermostat may indicate it has outdone its duration and requires a replacement or it could be from changing the water before the aquarium heater cools down. Either way, you must ensure you read through the instructions properly since installations may vary depending on the type of aquarium heater you’re using.
If you don’t want your assassin snails to freeze to death, aquarium heaters are a must. It’s important to ensure your snails are living healthily by providing the necessary items to make their environment livable. Technically, the task is to provide a home away from home for your pets. Remember, your assassin snails will not breed or ‘assassinate’ properly if the aquarium is too cold.
