btw, going off topic for awhile, how useful are snails? i know they can keep algae under control, but they kinda **** alot. i found a few snails in mine which probably game with the plants, however the amount of **** on my sand is increasing. should i take them out?
My overall experience with snails:
I have some snails in my tank, pretty sure they're pond type and it ultimately depends. If you are an over-feeder with your fish then don't get pond snails because they will reproduce like crazy and create a mess (possibly). I had overfed my fish awhile back and the snails went crazy in population. Now they're back under control and surprisingly don't eat my plants. That might just be luck of the draw though. They really help my Madagascar Lace Leaf because it needs to not have any algae on it due to the lack of leaf tissue and veins being exposed. If you have sensitive plants I'd suggest having snails, maybe not pond, but definitely something or shrimp or algae eaters.
If you get them and have issues with over population you can always get an assassin snail(s) that takes care of that or a snail eating fish, however I would not recommend a a Clown Loach because they need a very large tank and can get quite big, which means even though they are not aggressive the other fish may be bothered. Although you may empty your tank of the visible snails their eggs are microscopic so you will really have to clean your tank.
Also you can just get nerite snails because in FW they do not breed, in brackish water I believe they do breed though, but they are about 2 or so bucks a pop.
My snails work wonders for me and keep things spick and span, that might be due to how heavily planted my tank is. I don't have any waste issues with them at all. I tossed some of my snails in my 10gal which is not planted and isn't doing much really and they seem to just be a nuisance..but still not very wasteful.
