Snails and Goldfish Feeding Advice

[Moss]

Hi everyone,

I have some nerite snails and mystery snails in a 55 gallon tank with 3 two inch goldfish. The goldfish seem to know that the snails are not food (thankfully!) but they do seem to eat everything I throw in there for the snails to eat. They are little piggies, but I love them. I am trying to figure out how, when, and what to feed my snails so my goldfish don’t hog all the food, and so I don’t have to put so much in that I pollute the tank. I’ve been sneaking some Repashy super gold under the snails when the goldfish aren’t looking, and the snails seem to be happy about that, but it doesn’t take too long for the hungry gluttons to sniff that out. The snails are doing OK, and there is always some algae to munch on, but I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts. I do have other aquaria I could move the snails to, but I really want to keep them with the goldfish if I can to help with algae and general clean up. Plus, it’s funny watching my goldfish react to them (I think they think they are monsters 😉 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @Moss! They look like larger goldfish. Have you thought about a smaller tube, hide or even a pleco cave where they won't be able to go but the snails could? I would also feed snails at night as generally the fish will be inactive then. 

[Moss]

Thanks, Phoenix! Both great ideas!

[Ninjoma]

My golfish will eat literally any food I put in the tank. They are by far the least picky eaters I've kept. If I wanted to be positive the goldfish didn't eat the snail food, I would put their food in something the goldfish couldn't fit in like an apisto cave or shrimp cave. I keep mystery snails with my goldfish, and haven't needed to do anything like that though. They seem to get by fine on leftovers, algae and occasionally getting some fish food before the goldfish do.

[Lennie]

Hey @Moss,

Your goldfish look amazing.

From my own experience, nerites almost never touch any type of food or even veggies offered. They are naturally grazers, so as long as your tank has been running for some time, they will do fine unless they compete each other for food. So it is a good idea to not over crowd a tank with them.

Mystery snails are more like a scavenger and detritivore. They are constantly looking for leftover food, decaying plant matter, some algae, etc. I would highly recommend making a snello and dropping it in from time to time for your mysteries, to make sure they get enough veggie, protein and calcium in their diet. You can check "lav's snails" YT channel for indepth mystery snail care. She really is passionate about them, so she gives lots of recipes and infos about mysteries. Please note that gelatin and agar agar have different ways to active binding element and cannot be substituted for 1:1. 

Here is a snello recipe that uses agar agar as a binder: https://floridamysterysnails.com/2018/05/30/how-to-make-snello-snail-jello/

If you need any further help, please let me know. I can try my best to give more info regarding snail care and snello making.

Also, as an extra note, Idk at what temperature you keep your tank at but I am not sure how suitable it is to keep nerites and mysteries with golfish considering their temperature requirements, as I've never kept them together. Maybe people who did may comment on this one. But mysteries and nerites will enjoy mid 70s more while goldfish generally prefer it much lower.

[Moss]

Thanks, Ninjoma! It’s good to know you have had success keeping these species together, and that the snails do fine with algae, leftovers and first nibbles. I like the idea of the apisto cave! A little Snail Restaurant. The gold fish would never get in there, and the snails could feast in peace.

[Moss]

Thanks, Lennie! I do have happy goldfish. I got them as little feeder comets about 5 years ago, and they have been doing really well and making me happy. I bought Repashy  super gold for them a little while back, and I think their colour has improved, and they always seem so bright and active.

I bought the snails about a week ago. I have 5 nerites and 5 mystery. The temperature of the tank is 20 C (68 F). I think I am at the boundary between ideal temp for goldfish and snails. I am confident the goldfish are good with this temperature as they have lived in that all their lives, and I am hopeful the snails are OK. I did drip acclimate them and did some research (including Lav’s snails - she does have awesome videos!) that convinced me to give them a try. Do you think I should bump the temp up a degree or two for the snails?

There should be lots of algae for the nerites! I will definitely make some snello for the mystery snails as well. I just need to track down all the ingredients. Do you think if I put a couple of snello cubes in an apisto cave that the mystery snails would find it? Are they good at sniffing out food and hustling over to it?

Thanks again!

 

[Katherine]

On 2/9/2023 at 7:14 AM, Moss said:

Do you think if I put a couple of snello cubes in an apisto cave that the mystery snails would find it? Are they good at sniffing out food and hustling over to it?

They are fantastic food sniffers.

[Lennie]

On 2/9/2023 at 4:14 PM, Moss said:

Do you think I should bump the temp up a degree or two for the snails?

Hey again, 

It has been ages since I stopped keeping goldfish. The last one I had was over 15 years ago, or even more. My tank temperature always go really high during summer, so cold water fish are not really suitible for me anyway. I personally would increase it a lil bit more, as 68F is a bit too low for nerites in my opinion, but also would not like to inform you wrong. I keep my mystery and nerites at 24C-25C. I cannot comment on cold water fish situation really.

Here I'm tagging some goldfish keepers that may help you if goldfish can go above 20C to match nerite snail temps.  @EVoyager31 @Mynameisnobody @Val

 

On 2/9/2023 at 4:14 PM, Moss said:

Thanks, Lennie! I do have happy goldfish. I got them as little feeder comets about 5 years ago, and they have been doing really well and making me happy. I bought Repashy  super gold for them a little while back, and I think their colour has improved, and they always seem so bright and active.

They really look so pretty!! Do they have names? 😄

Edited February 9, 2023 by Lennie

[EVoyager31]

On 2/9/2023 at 10:52 AM, Lennie said:

Hey again, 

It has been ages since I stopped keeping goldfish. The last one I had was over 15 years ago, or even more. My tank temperature always go really high during summer, so cold water fish are not really suitible for me anyway. I personally would increase it a lil bit more, as 68F is a bit too low for nerites in my opinion, but also would not like to inform you wrong. I keep my mystery and nerites at 24C-25C. I cannot comment on cold water fish situation really.

Here I'm tagging some goldfish keepers that may help you if goldfish can go above 20C to match nerite snail temps.  @EVoyager31 @Mynameisnobody @Val

 

They really look so pretty!! Do they have names? 😄

I think nerites do need a slightly higher temp.. I tun my goldies at around 67-70.. haven’t been able to successfully keep nerites in my goldfish tanks at all though! Not sure if its temperature related or not.. but they do fine in my planted tank at 86 and have successfully kept them in planted tanks in the mid 70s!

[Val]

I think goldies are best suited for species only tanks.  I mean, most of them are pretty hardy, so you could probably raise the temp slowly maybe up to mid 70s (my tank runs about 71) and they should do well enough.  Is that good enough for the snails?  Trying to split the difference may not serve either population.