You might pick an interest in providing a tankmate for your mystery snails such as goldfish as you delve into the world of aquariums, but how compatible will they be? The last thing you want is for your goldfish to eat your snails or settle for fighting them at every chance. In addition, their basic necessities such as diet and water parameters must be considered to ensure they find their home collectively conducive. These concerns bring us to a discussion like this article, and we’d be concluding it once and for all!
Mystery snails can peacefully live with goldfish under certain conditions. Goldfish are not aggressive, but they will eat anything that can fit in their mouths such as snail eggs or hatchlings. So, your mystery snail must first and foremost be an adult to prevent it from getting eaten by your goldfish. Aside from this problem, your aquarium pets can live peacefully and healthily with themselves.
Do Mystery Snails Eat Goldfish?
Fortunately, mystery snails do not actively prey on goldfish since they’re not part of their diet. They’re also way too slow to catch goldfish which are typically swift swimmers. They are highly unlikely to stay still for the mysteries to capture and slowly devour.
If you are concerned about your mystery snail attacking your fish, I assure you that they have no intention of bending backward to have a simple meal. If you catch them eating an actual goldfish, it’s most likely that the fish had already died before you found the mystery snails frolicking the carcass. After all, they thoroughly enjoy eating detritus.
4 Major Challenges Of Keeping Mystery Snails With Goldfish In Your Aquarium
If you are looking into keeping mystery snails with goldfish, there are certain challenges you will face along your journey. These problems demand solutions to ensure your pets live peacefully with themselves.
1. The Issue With Water Parameters
Both mystery snails and goldfish have slightly different water requirements necessary for them to thrive. Goldfish prefer the water typically colder as compared to mystery snails who thrive in warmer temperatures.
This becomes a problem when you have no idea how to create the balance both parties need. The key is to find a temperature that fits nicely for both pets without stressing one or the other. Since goldfish prefer temperatures between 65° – 72° and mystery snails prefer to live in 70° – 80°F, the most compatible temperature is 72°F. This will ensure that your pets are safe in their environment through and through.
Note that colder temperatures will cause your snails to grow slower and develop stronger shells as compared to those cultivated in warmer climates. So, don’t freak out when you don’t see your pet snails maturing as big as they show online under this temperature. They’re just taking the time to develop extra armor.
2. Feeding Problems
Mystery snails and goldfish in a tank are just two voracious food monsters who’d be constantly in a competition for who eats more. However, the snails get the rotten end of the deal because of how slowly they move. Goldfish tend to consume the food before the snails get to it.
Now, you must be wondering why we don’t just ensure there’s extra food for the mystery snails, but putting food in excess only gets the goldfish to eat and poop more which is detrimental to their health. Unlike mystery snails, goldfish do not have the decency to swim away from food once they feel full. They will literally eat your weight in protein pellets if you let them!
The solution to this problem is to hide the food so that only mystery snails can find them. Put the food in nooks and crannies such as decor with several hiding spaces or tight-neck bottles that only snails can fit, and then leave them to be found. Another solution is simply separating the two parties; place your snails in a breeder box to feed in peace before returning them to meet their fish friends.
3. The Abundant Poop Issue
Mystery snails and goldfish are heavy eaters and poopers. Before you blink, your aquarium is murky and in dire need of a water change to prevent ammonia from spiking. To maintain the health of both species, you must perform frequent water changes as soon as the tank becomes dirty. Hygiene is highly detrimental to their overall well-being and is crucial to be maintained for your pets’ longevity.
4. Providing Your Pets Enough Space
Mystery snails and goldfish can utilize the same space since snails are bottom dwellers and fish swimmers. They’d practically get out of each other’s way most of the time. However, you must ensure that the tank is not crowded. Despite goldfish being peaceful fish, they may still become curious and nip at your mystery snails when there’s not enough room to move about.
Are Goldfish Naturally Aggressive?
Goldfish are not necessarily aggressive pets, but they can be dangerously curious half of the time. They mostly roam about scouting for the next new meal and will test-try literally anything they come across. Adequate space is crucial to prevent them from potentially harming or consuming mystery snails.
While goldfish aren’t aggressive towards their tankmates, they may try to nip at or disturb the snails if the opportunity presents itself. That being said, some specific breeds of goldfish such as the ranchu, bubble-eye, and telescope are most likely to exhibit territorial and aggressive traits in comparison to common goldfish and fancy kinds.
Cohabiting Your Mystery Snails And Goldfish: The Middle Ground
Mystery snails and goldfish make good tankmates because they share similar parameters and basic needs. So, you’d be able to care for them thoroughly without compromising the well-being of the other. The following are the water parameters and how either of your pets may employ them:
Temperature
Temperature is basically the only parameter that strongly differs for your mystery snails and goldfish. As we have mentioned earlier, mystery snails require temperatures of 70° to 80° F compared to goldfish who prefer 65° to 72° F. Although 72°F climate may be at the extreme end of the preferred temperature for both species, it’s still highly manageable and safe for their survival.
Ammonia, Nitrites, & Nitrates
The effects of ammonia and its breakdowns— nitrite and nitrates—remain the same for your aquatic pets. Ammonia is toxic and needs to be kept at 0 to prevent your mystery snails and goldfish from suffocating. Especially since they produce a heavy amount of excrement that needs to be removed from the tank through frequent water changes. If the ammonia is higher than nitrites, it means your tank’s good bacteria colony has dwindled and water cycling has become a necessity, not water changes.
The difference between water cycling and water changing is the main purpose of either activity; water cycling is a method of employing a nitrite cycle with the use of good bacteria to help break down toxic ammonia. On the other hand, a water change helps to remove dirt from the aquarium by replacing a certain percentage of dirty tank water with clean water.
Avoid completely replacing your tank with a new body of water. This will instantly kill your good bacteria and cause ammonia to spike, therefore killing your precious aquarium pets!
pH Value
Similarly to temperature, there is a slight difference in pH value for mystery snails and goldfish. Mystery snails can do with a pH of 7.6 to 8.0, while goldfish prefer a slightly acidic range of 7.2 to 7.6. Therefore, your pets will be fine with a pH of 7.6.
Regularly monitor the pH using reliable water testing kits (view on Amazon) to confirm the value at all times. Placing driftwood in the aquarium helps to acidify the environment and a simple water change will rectify excessive acidity.
Water Hardness
The water hardness required for mystery snails and goldfish is the same ranging from 150 to 300 ppm. If after testing the aquarium water you find your water hardness lower than necessary, pour crushed coral into the tank to improve it. Water hardness is essential for providing your pets with the necessary minerals that help to build strong shells and assist other minuscule parts of digestion.
| Parameters | Ideal Range |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 70 – 80 (°F) |
| pH | 7.6 – 8.0 |
| Ammonia (NH3/NH4+) | 0 |
| Nitrite (NO2-) | 0 |
| Nitrate (NO3-) | 0 |
| Copper (Cu) | 0 |
| Water hardness | 150 – 300 ppm |
| Salinity | 0 |
The Behavioral Similarities Of Mystery Snails And Goldfish
To provide insight into caring for goldfish and mystery snails, I’ll highlight some similarities based on my experience that will give you a perspective or a head start. Here are the major similarities between them:
They’re Both Omnivorous
Mystery snails and goldfish are both omnivorous in nature which makes it easier to feed them. Since they eat the same things, you can easily create a diet that they can both enjoy. Protein sources such as blood worms, shrimp, and protein pellets, along with plant-based foods such as algae wafers and blanched healthy veggies, and homemade snello are all major bases for a fully-rounded nutritional diet.
They Do Not Eat Algae
If you’ve gotten your mystery snails or goldfish for the purpose of algae control, you have made regrettable choices. None of the species are algae-loving animals and will only eat algae as a last resort. If you would prefer tank-cleaning pets, consider Siamese algae-eaters or nerite snails to do the job.
They’re Both Docile Pets To Keep
Mystery snails and goldfish are docile. They do not cause any ruckus or attempt to attack each other. Instead, they will go about their business of scouting for food whenever they can. However, it’s important to keep a lid on the tank to prevent your snail from escaping its home which would result in falling and fatally cracking its shell, or going missing.
The Differences Between Goldfish And Mystery Snails
It’s natural to wonder about the differences between caring for mystery snails and goldfish. If you’re keeping aquatic pets for the first time, it helps to set your journey into viewpoint.
Goldfish Live Longer Than Mystery Snails
With proper care, goldfish can live up to 20 years and grow up to 8 inches. In comparison, mystery snails only live for 1 to 5 years growing up to 3 inches in size. If you aspire for your pets to live long, you must provide the appropriate habitat for them to dwell and nourish them with a healthy diet through and through.
Goldfish Eat Live Plants
If your goldfish routinely nibbles on your live plants and happens to enjoy it, your plants are as good as done for! They will relentlessly nip and feed on these plants until there’s nothing left. My life changed for the better when I found out that goldfish dislike anubias and Java ferns. After a few trials of what looked like disgust, they swam away and refused to eat them again and that was how I was able to maintain my green tank despite my pesky goldfish. If you really want a plant-filled tank, perhaps you should consider cultivating the plants that goldfish won’t eat.
