Goldfish and Snails

[soccerjohn]

Hello. My question for everyone today is this. Can I put a snail in my goldfish tank. I know that goldfish put off ammonia and I didn't know if I could put a snail in there to help keep the tank clean from over feeding and waste. Thanks in advance.

[Lance M.]

Goldfish will eat small snails. Just wondering how big yours is and what size tank + how many goldfish you plan on having.

[LittlePuff]

Snails won't help with getting rid of waste. They actually make quite a bit themselves.

Kim

[Medusa Head]

Yes, snails make great companions for goldfish. They do clean up waste somewhat, and don't make much themselves. I have never observed a goldfish eat a small snail. I have kept an assortment of pomacea and nerita snails with large goldfish for well over a year and these are my observations.

[Devilishturtles]

Yes, snails make great companions for goldfish. They do clean up waste somewhat, and don't make much themselves. I have never observed a goldfish eat a small snail. I have kept an assortment of pomacea and nerita snails with large goldfish for well over a year and these are my observations.

I disagree a bit. Snails are VERY messy invertebrates. A snail would be fine with goldfish, as long as it is bigger than your goldfishes mouth. No snail eggs with probably survive in your tank, but the snails might. I guess that all depends on the fish.

They will eat goo off the bottom, as well as algae on the tank glass. Snails can be really cool animals IMO. Have fun

[nyghtone]

I've personally witnessed goldfish tearing snails apart, IME goldfish a far more aggressive than most people give them credit for, but then again, that is just IME

HTH, Joshua...

[Fluff]

I have a tank just for mystery snails and snails are messy but extremely cool. I also know from experience that goldfish will eat small snails. I got some plants with hitchhiker snails that I daily pick out and feed to the goldies in my pond. I guess some make it to the bottom and are still out there, but most don't. I don't know about all snails but mystery/apple snails will live longer in cooler water, so do well with goldfish as long as they are not small enough to get eaten.

[Medusa Head]

It can depend on the goldfish I guess. I only keep egg shaped fancy goldfish with long flowing fins, and I've read that these are more docile than commons or comets. That may play into it.

The really small "pest" snails that come into the tank on plant roots aren't really desirable IMO, so it's good that goldfish would eat these.

You REALLY don't want your snails reproducing anyway, so you'd want your goldfish to eat the eggs. Hey it's free food!

I'm not sure how a goldfish could "tear a snail apart;" how would the goldfish get the hard shell open?

I'm also not sure how snails are "messy." What type of mess do they create? I've only observed areas of the tank with a lot of debries get cleared out by snails.

[krap101]

yeah they clean up the floors but in doing so it makes a giant string of poop. depending how big the snail is but my snails make poop like =========== about that thick and thats pretty big

[Fluff]

Snails eat alot and therefor poo alot. And, I have fancy goldfish (fantails, orandas) that swallow small snails whole. I'm not against keeping snails with goldies. I'm just saying to be sure the snails are large enough not to be swallowed. Otherwise, I think they are excellent tank companions for goldfish.

[soccerjohn]

Well I was thinking about getting a black moore and putting it into that 2.5 gal birth tank that I have after I give all the fry away and was just wondering. I think that I will just keep that tank around just in case I decide to breed again. Thanks for all the help.

[Lance M.]

I have a 7inch Black Moor and a 7inch Fantail goldfish. I've kept mystery snails with them, but they are too big to be eaten. I've seen the goldfish eat pond snails and mts though. If you want to keep snails with them your best bet to prevent the goldfish from eating them are apple snails or mystery snails.

O and a black moor for a 2.5 gal is way to much. I bought one at about 2.5 inchs and in a little less than 6 months it reached 6inches. They make so much waste they need a lot of room. If you kept it in such a small tank, it would die of acidosis or another disease like finrot from poor tank conditions. Also 2.5 is really cramped.