Best snail for goldfish tankmate?

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CrohnieBoy

AC Members
Jan 21, 2003
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Northern Kentucky
Hi all. Time to check the collective wisdom. My daughter has a 5 gallon freshwater tank. She wants a snail. I need to know what type would be best.
Here are the tank specs:

5 gallon half hex
Undergravel filter
External power filter
Gravel bed with fake plant
2 incandescent lights (15 watts each)
1 Calico Telescopic goldfish
Tank just finished cycling
Heater keeps tank at 72-74 degrees

Any suggestions?

Also any specifics in regards to the snails (feeding/care, etc.) would be helpful.

I have heard an Apple snail is good.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:

Frank_Carr

AC Members
Jan 13, 2003
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Atlanta, GA, USA
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Goldfish will eat smaller snails and may pick on larger ones. A larger apple snail or mystery snail may be OK with a young goldfish but could be at risk later. Apple snails will usually gobble up live plants so you will want to keep this in mind for the future.

Also, bear in mind that a 5 gallon tank will become too small for your goldfish as it grows. It's OK to start with a 5 gallon (that's what we did too) but the fish will soon outgrow the tank, making it difficult to keep the tank clean and stressing the fish. When you do upgrade your tank, I'd suggest going with a 55 gallon or better so that you can add more fish.

One thing you could do would be to put your current goldfish in the large tank when it outgrows it and put a new baby goldfish to your daughter's tank. You might also go with a male betta when the goldfish outgrows the tank. This is what we did with our 5 gallon.
 
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