I don't mean can they physically accomplish it, I mean will it hurt them? My goldfish tank is next to a window and thus gets some algae growth. A friend gave me some medium sized snails with a pile of little babies. By the next day, the little ones were gone. And the fish were fat and happy. Today, one is dead. He was not ill appearing. Did eating the baby snails give him an obstruction and kill him? If so, is there anything I can do to save the other two from the same fate? This was about a 4 inch(body length) 2 yr old ryukin. The others are similar in size and age.
Can goldfish eat snails??
- Thread starter beckyd
- Start date
YouTube - Goldfish going crazy for blanched spinach
my goldfish kept touching the Apple Snail for some minutes once he introduced in tank, now they dont even go near him. Ofcourse he is very big for their mouth so no chance of them even trying to gobble him.
my goldfish kept touching the Apple Snail for some minutes once he introduced in tank, now they dont even go near him. Ofcourse he is very big for their mouth so no chance of them even trying to gobble him.
I wouldnt advise keepin small or medium snails around larger goldfish, or any goldfish. the larger apple snails that cant fit in their mouths are best, like anshuman owns (and i used to own the very same one until i gave it to Kenny...)
Reason being is that they cant digest the calcium shell and it will likely block their intestinal tract, which will obviously kill them. Bigger goldies might be able to do eat very small snails, maybe cuz their stoumach acid is stronger .__. , but if its a smaller goldfish it might be in trouble. The goldfish/carp do eat snails in the wild and ponds, and i dont hear of any snail-fatalities, but i just stated my theory on this. I've onyl kept big snails with goldifish...
Reason being is that they cant digest the calcium shell and it will likely block their intestinal tract, which will obviously kill them. Bigger goldies might be able to do eat very small snails, maybe cuz their stoumach acid is stronger .__. , but if its a smaller goldfish it might be in trouble. The goldfish/carp do eat snails in the wild and ponds, and i dont hear of any snail-fatalities, but i just stated my theory on this. I've onyl kept big snails with goldifish...
The snail thing is getting out of hand. I lost another goldie without knowing why. I am suspecting the intestinal blockage issue you theorize about Newman. I also didn't want them in my 75g because I want my cory eggs to survive. Well, they are in there and increasing in numbers. I use a python to clean the tanks, so I guess I'm spreading them around. Now what? How do I get rid of the little buggers? I must admit, I get a small pleasure from watching the turtle pulverize them for lunch, so I must be pretty annoyed with them...
I have pond-snails in my tank, the largest one is under 3/8 inch. They breed like ... snails, and I control the population by crushing the snail against the side of the tank. I let it drop, and the fish scramble to get it. Especially the Pepper Cories, but the Platies and Tetras love snail-meat too.
They can't eat the snails with the shell intact, but when the shell is broken the fish slurp them up and suck on the insides, spitting out the shell bits. They don't seem to bother the tiny baby snails, so I let most of them grow to snack-size. I let a few survive to lay eggs. Most of the eggs get eaten by the fish, but some survive, to keep the snacks available.
Maybe it's different for other types of snails, but this might be an idea for using/eliminating the snails while they are little. Once they are big you could pick them out by hand. If you don't have someone to give them to, you could crush the snails and put them outside in the bird feeder, or drop them into boiling water to kill them and then discard them in the trash. Never put aquarium plants or creatures out into the wild where they might survive to cause problems.
They can't eat the snails with the shell intact, but when the shell is broken the fish slurp them up and suck on the insides, spitting out the shell bits. They don't seem to bother the tiny baby snails, so I let most of them grow to snack-size. I let a few survive to lay eggs. Most of the eggs get eaten by the fish, but some survive, to keep the snacks available.
Maybe it's different for other types of snails, but this might be an idea for using/eliminating the snails while they are little. Once they are big you could pick them out by hand. If you don't have someone to give them to, you could crush the snails and put them outside in the bird feeder, or drop them into boiling water to kill them and then discard them in the trash. Never put aquarium plants or creatures out into the wild where they might survive to cause problems.