Can Goldfish Live with Snails? Top 7 Species

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When considering if goldfish can live with snails, it’s essential to understand that goldfish are natural predators and might consider small snails, even baby snails, as food, especially if the snails are small enough to fit in their mouths. However, larger snails such as Netrite Snails, Mystery Snails, and Japanese Trapdoor Snails tend to be safe companions because they grow too big for a goldfish to eat.

can goldfish live with snails

Despite this, some aggressive goldfish may still attempt to eat these larger snails, even going so far as sucking them out of their shells. To keep the snails safe, it’s important to maintain a proper diet for your goldfish. If goldfish are well-fed, they are more likely to leave snails alone, as the effort required to extract a snail from its shell isn’t worth the energy.

For extra prevention, offering treats like cucumber slices, blood worms, broccoli, and leafy greens can help keep your goldfish satisfied, lowering the chance that they’ll target your snails.

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How to Safely Add Snails to Your Goldfish Tank

When adding snails to a goldfish tank, it’s important to remember that snails can carry diseases or parasites that could harm your goldfish. To avoid this, you should quarantine snails for at least 28 days in a jar with a small piece of live plant to eat, ensuring they don’t transmit any issues. Additionally, snails require a calcium-rich diet to keep their shells strong and healthy, so it’s important to check ingredient labels to avoid copper, as it is toxic to them.

The presence of snails in your aquarium can help break down bio-load, assisting beneficial bacteria in maintaining water quality. Snails won’t eat live plants if they have enough food from algae, leftover goldfish food, or plant detritus, meaning they can coexist peacefully without harming your plants.

Best Snails for Goldfish Tanks

1.Mystery Snail

The Mystery Snail, also known as the spike-topped apple snail or Inca snail, is a popular and fascinating aquatic snail. These snails can grow fairly large, reaching up to 2 inches in width, and are known for their extreme activity and social behavior. They are peaceful creatures with amusing quirks, like climbing to the top of the tank and “jumping” before floating back down, only to repeat the behavior. While Mystery Snails reproduce quickly and in large numbers, their eggs are laid above the waterline, making them easy to spot and remove if necessary. However, they have the potential to become invasive, and in some areas, they may not be legal to own, so it’s important to check local laws before acquiring one.

2.Rabbit Snail

The Rabbit Snail, although less popular than Mystery Snails, is becoming a favorite in the aquarium trade. Named for their adorable, rabbit-like faces, these snails can grow up to 3 inches in length. One appealing feature of the Rabbit Snail is that it doesn’t reproduce quickly or asexually. To reproduce, a male and female must be present, and their reproduction rate is slow and produces few offspring. As excellent scavengers, Rabbit Snails help maintain a clean tank by eating algae and dead plant matter, but their large size contributes to the tank’s bioload. They are not known to consume live plants, making them a safe option for planted aquariums.

3.Ramshorn Snail

Ramshorn Snails, like Nerites, come in various varieties, each with its distinct spiral shell, resembling the horn of a ram. The largest Ramshorn Snail only grows to about 1 inch in width, while the smallest barely reaches 0.25 inch. Due to their small size, they can be vulnerable to being eaten by larger goldfish, which is why many people choose to keep them in fry or hospital tanks. These snails are cute and come in a variety of colors, making them a lovely addition to your aquarium, and they are effective at keeping algae in check. However, Ramshorn Snails are often considered pest snails because of their rapid reproduction. They can reproduce asexually, and if you wish to prevent their multiplication, it’s important to monitor for their slightly spiral-shaped egg clutches.

4.Nerite Snail

Nerite Snails are extremely popular in aquariums and come in various types, such as zebra, olive, red racer, tiger, and horned. While different varieties can vary in size, most Nerite Snails typically don’t exceed 1 inch in width. These active, cute snails are excellent at keeping your tank clean, particularly by consuming algae. A unique aspect of Nerite Snails is that they cannot reproduce successfully in freshwater, as their reproduction requires brackish water. However, they still lay eggs, often referred to as “bedazzling” the tank. These eggs appear on different surfaces, but they won’t hatch in freshwater, though they can be a hassle to clean up.

5.Japanese Trapdoor Snail

The Japanese Trapdoor Snail is a relatively large snail, reaching up to 2 inches in width. While the average lifespan for these snails in captivity ranges from 1 to 5 years, many owners report their Trapdoor Snails living up to 10 years. These snails can be sensitive to changes in water quality, so when kept with goldfish, it’s crucial to ensure excellent filtration and maintain high water quality. Known for their efficiency in consuming algae, Japanese Trapdoor Snails make a great addition to your tank. Due to their size and shape, they are highly unlikely to be bothered by your goldfish.

6.Pagoda Snail

Pagoda Snails are unique and beautiful creatures, though they are still relatively rare in the aquarium trade, making them harder to find. Known for their spiked shells, Pagoda Snails are peaceful and unlikely to be bothered by goldfish. In the wild, they can live up to 5 years, but in captivity, they typically live no longer than 2 years. The reproductive habits of Pagoda Snails remain somewhat mysterious, but it is known that they give birth to live young. Their slow reproduction rate and difficulty in breeding make them an ideal choice if you prefer a snail that won’t reproduce in large numbers in your tank

7.Malaysian Trumpet Snail

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail (MTS) is a somewhat controversial snail in the aquarium world due to its extremely rapid reproductive rate. MTS can reproduce asexually, meaning one snail can quickly turn into dozens. Despite this, Malaysian Trumpet Snails are valuable in your goldfish tank as they are excellent at keeping the tank clean. They love to burrow, which helps prevent the buildup of toxic gases in the substrate. Although their small size makes them susceptible to being eaten by curious goldfish, their rapid reproduction ensures that the snail population remains stable. To keep MTS populations under control, it’s important to avoid overfeeding, as this can trigger higher reproduction rates.

Tank Setup for Goldfish and Snail

To house both goldfish and Snail, the tank should be spacious enough to accommodate both species. Since goldfish can grow large, a minimum of 40 gallons is recommended, especially for a few baby fancy goldfish and juvenile or adult Snails.
A large rectangular tank with a hood or canopy is ideal, while bowls, bio-orbs, and vases are not suitable and will cause stress due to limited space and unstable water conditions. Inside the tank, a good quality filter and aeration system are essential to maintain optimal water quality by controlling waste and debris.

A pre-set heater is also necessary to keep the water temperature stable, which is important for both species. Snails prefer warmer water, and fancy goldfish thrive within the 19–23 °C temperature range, which can be maintained for both creatures.

Regular water changes are crucial to lower ammonia levels, as both Snails and goldfish are sensitive to ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Keeping ammonia and nitrite levels at 0 ppm and nitrate levels below 30 ppm ensures a healthy environment.

The substrate should consist of fine gravel, sand, or smooth pebbles, which are compatible for both species. While many goldfish do better in bare-bottom tanks, the substrate should be small enough for a goldfish to spit out without it getting stuck in its mouth. Substrate is important for snails, as they enjoy burrowing. If the tank is primarily for snails, deeper substrate can be used, as their burrowing helps oxygenate it and prevents the growth of anaerobic bacteria.

FAQs

Can I Put Snails with My Goldfish?

Yes, snails can make great companions for goldfish. They help clean up waste in the tank and generally don’t contribute much waste themselves. From personal experience, I have never seen a goldfish eat a small snail. Over the course of more than a year, I have successfully kept an assortment of Pomacea and Nerite Snails with large goldfish, and they’ve coexisted peacefully without issues. As long as the right tank conditions are maintained, such as adequate space, good filtration, and proper water quality, snails can be excellent additions to a goldfish tank.

What fish can live with snails?

Compatible Tank Mates for Mystery Snails
Ideal tank mates include: Small Fish: Guppies, Endlers, Rasboras, and Tetras.

Conclusion

In conclusion, keeping goldfish and snails together can be a rewarding experience if the proper setup and care are provided. A spacious tank, with good filtration, temperature control, and regular water changes, will ensure a healthy environment for both species. While some snails, like Mystery Snails, Ramshorn Snails, and Nerite Snails, make excellent companions for goldfish, it’s important to monitor their reproduction rates and size to prevent any issues. With careful attention to tank conditions, goldfish and snails can coexist peacefully, offering a dynamic and clean ecosystem for your aquarium.