Melanoides tuberculataThis 2 cm snail is one of my favorite snails, for planted tank especially. They do great job in aerating the gravel and reducing the amount of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) that accumulates anaerobically under the substrate. Beside that, they are the best fungus eater I have observed. They will eat various types of algae, microorganisms and bacteria. Left over food will be devoured, but if not over fed with commercial food, they will readily eat decaying plant material. It is very normal for this snail to over run the tank in about 8 month. Out of just 5 you will end up having hundreds. Of course the more left over food the more snails, but even without over feeding, inside a healthy aquarium environment where microorganisms will grow, they will spread easily.
I usually take out up to 20 each time I do the water change (every two month). I personally don't mind this snail and it is very welcome in all my tanks, planted or non-planted.
I use this snail in my shrimp tanks, because its waste (and snails do waste much) favours microorganism, fungal and algae growth that shrimps use as their main diet.
If you have a quarantine tank that doesn't house anything at the moment, but you would like to keep it cycled, meaning, you would like the bacteria still being available and growing in the filter media, introduce a few Trumpet snails. They will feed on bacteria and microorganisms that again, will feed on snail waste, so no need to feed this tank.
Observation; One of my Red Cherry shrimps died of old age, no other shrimps were interested in eating this dead one, but the Trumpet snails eat it in just two days. Rotting shrimps/fish will pollute water, so it is very beneficial keeping snails. Of course one should hand remove the the dead animal, but there is a big chance that you will not be able to see them in planted tanks.
Photo by Dusko Bojic.
aka the Golden Apple Snail 
