# do I need to quarantine assassin snails?



## meowrisa (Jun 3, 2015)

Im getting two assassin snails, 1 for each 10 gallon tank and I was wondering if i will need to quarantine them?


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## JDAquatics (Jan 16, 2015)

If you do not know for sure that they are coming from a reputable source...it never hurts to quarantine. But my opinion would be that it is not necessary.


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## AquaPlayz (Aug 14, 2015)

I definitely would, mostly because I have gotten snails and shrimp that come with planaria which will kill both of them if left untreated.
A kritter keeper with a small plant and something for them to climb on with a airstone and daily 50% water changes will be fine.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I agree ^^. Quarantine is okay but I've never found it necessary.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

meowrisa said:


> Im getting two assassin snails, 1 for each 10 gallon tank and I was wondering if i will need to quarantine them?


Always quarantine snails, shrimp, new fish, and plants no matter where they come from. Snails, shrimp and plants cannot get infected with parasites and most diseases that can effect your fish, but they can certainly carry them into your tank.

QT for at least 4 weeks.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Mousie said:


> Always quarantine snails, shrimp, new fish, and plants no matter where they come from. Snails, shrimp and plants cannot get infected with parasites and most diseases that can effect your fish, but they can certainly carry them into your tank.
> 
> QT for at least 4 weeks.


This may well be true; however, no matter how long you quarantine you won't know if the snails, shrimp or plants are carriers if they are asymptomatic. 

Plants may carry bladder or pest snails but one can dip plants.

Pathogens are always present in our tanks. No matter how well we quarantine fish they will always be there. But pathogens will only take foothold if if there is immune system stress.

Since most don't keep an established tank for quarantine the new fish, ADF, shrimp, etc., are stressed by an uncycled environment. I would never, every quarantine shrimp if I didn't have a cycled, mature tank available as their chance of survival would be next to nil.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I once had a mystery snail develop a fungus which caused big issues. You can't factually know if snail is carrying something but it can't hurt to put it through a series of water changes


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> This may well be true; however, no matter how long you quarantine you won't know if the snails, shrimp or plants are carriers if they are asymptomatic.


As carriers they will not ever show symptoms. This is especially important when purchasing from a local fish store where every tank shares the same water. And online, unless you know the person and trust them implicitly without question, you have no way of knowing what's in their tanks. Personally, even if I've been to the persons house or place of business I am always going to QT anything coming from them.

"Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony Calfo


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## Pippin (Apr 11, 2014)

I would, because snails can carry illnesses, and if the snail was sick you can treat it, without treating the rest of your fish. Also, many fish you quarantine just to make sure it's okay, acclimate it to your water, and give it a chance to calm down.

Basically, I quarantine everything. It seems like many people don't think it's necessary until they loose their favorite fish from a preventable illness brought in by not quarantining.




Mousie said:


> As carriers they will not ever show symptoms. This is especially important when purchasing from a local fish store where every tank shares the same water. And online, unless you know the person and trust them implicitly without question, you have no way of knowing what's in their tanks. Personally, even if I've been to the persons house or place of business I am always going to QT anything coming from them.


And also, many illnesses that they could be carriers of your might not have any resistance to. This applies more to fish than snails, but a fish which a carrier might have an immunity to it that your fish doesn't. And just the stress of a new tankmate might lower their immune system just enough to let an illness in.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Pippin said:


> I would, because snails can carry illnesses, and if the snail was sick you can treat it, without treating the rest of your fish. Also, many fish you quarantine just to make sure it's okay, acclimate it to your water, and give it a chance to calm down.
> 
> Basically, I quarantine everything. It seems like many people don't think it's necessary until they loose their favorite fish from a preventable illness brought in by not quarantining.
> 
> ...


That's a very good point. I had not thought to bring that up.

I think the most prevalent is probably ICH. Anything can carry it into the tank, but in a QT it will die in 72 hours if it does not have a host. ICH can wipe out an entire tank without ever having visual signs on the fish. 

Not all plants can be dipped in bleach, not all plants can be soaked for several hours in alum, and not all plants can be dipped in potassium permanganate. 

It's a 50/50 chance either way and it's always better to err on the side of caution. There's nothing worse than getting a few snails, adding them to your main display tank and then everything in the tank dies because you did not QT.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I do not disagree with quarantining; just the way it is usually done.

People get a small tank or Kritter Keeper, set it up and go buy the tankmates. This subjects the critters to a tank that is being cycled which while okay for hardy Betta can be stressful to most Micro/Nano fish and ADF (not necessarily snails) and lethal to shrimp. It weakens their immune systems and can cause them to fall victim to whatever pathogens they are carrying; including pathogens which are not interspecies transferable. Same applies to "hospital" tanks.

It's one of the reasons I run two filters in all of my aquariums: If I need to quarantine or need a hospital tank I have a cycled and ready filter. No added stress to the critters. I also do not add tankmates until a tank is fully cycled and mature by at least six weeks for the same reason.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> It's one of the reasons I run two filters in all of my aquariums: If I need to quarantine or need a hospital tank I have a cycled and ready filter. No added stress to the critters. I also do not add tankmates until a tank is fully cycled and mature by at least six weeks for the same reason.



This is one of the reasons I keep two hospital tanks. The 10G is kept cycled regardless if there are any fish in it. (1 drop per gallon twice a week with Dr Tim's Ammonium Chloride Drops.) The 5G Sterilite Container is never cycled, and is used when either the medication(s) will kill the filter bed, or if there are already fish in the main QT.

I do not at this time have any shrimp or snails, but when I had shrimp they always went into the 10G QT. Undipped plants went in there too. Never had any issues.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Mousie said:


> <<snip>>
> I do not at this time have any shrimp or snails, but when I had shrimp they always went into the 10G QT. Undipped plants went in there too. Never had any issues.


That's because they went in a cycled tank.  Many people on this forum have less than a year of experience and/or no room to keep an empty, cycled 10 gallon. Edit: Or willpower to keep an empty, cycled 10 gallon. LOL


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> That's because they went in a cycled tank.  Many people on this forum have less than a year of experience and/or no room to keep an empty, cycled 10 gallon.


That's why the experienced people are here... to help the inexperienced. ;-) Discussions like this help a lot of people!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I agree...these discussions are good for all.


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