What does a snail actually do in an aquarium?

I'm thinking about getting a small snail to put in my aquarium with my goldfish, but does a snail actually help with anything in the aquarium? what do they eat?|||HI Renee, I would advise you to get a Mystery/Apple snail because many of the other types of snail are able to reproduce asexually %26amp; one snail becomes many %26amp; even if the fish start snacking on the offspring you may soon be overrun.





You'll be well advised to research some snail varieties on Google before going ahead as they all have specific needs %26amp; requirements in respect of feeding %26amp; water conditions etc. Bear in mind also that if you have a small tank another creature in there will be putting additional demands on your filter %26amp; eco system in general which will already be working hard because Goldfish are messy.|||They are pests in my tank,they eat the plants,they poop lots and they leave clean patchy trails all over the glass,they hitched a ride on some new plants l put in and now l can't get rid of them.|||It differs from species to species, just ask at the pet store, as for what they do, they can help keep clean the tank a little bit, but nothing like a Pleco will, they are really just there to look at.|||They eat the algae in you tank and wont effect the goldfish. I have the same setup.|||snails are often used for cleaning the aquarium


i have always heard they eat the algae and the food on the bottom of the cage...


so they actually do help.





hope this helped! =]|||Dear Renee,


A snail eats the algae that grows on the aquarium walls. So yes, it would be a great addition. I'll warn you--it only works at a snail's pace. Maybe get two and see if they'll race.|||You don't have to worry about feeding these guys, for they eat the annoying algae off your tank. I'd be careful getting a snail though. Mostly stick with the male snails instead of the females. Who knows if the female's ready to lay eggs or not, and it'd suck to have billions of baby snails infesting the tank. Trust me.|||Eats and cleans algae of the glass and eats food of the bottom of the tank