snails

[drigz]

I've read a couple posts here about people and their snail infestations. I'm just wondering...why do people want to get rid of their snails? Aren't they supposed to keep the tank clean? Is their some downside to having a snail in your tank?

I do have one snail which just had a few babies. I may not want all five of them, but I do want to keep one. Do they need any special conditions to survive? For now, I've just put one in a little separate container within the tank so that the fish will not eat it. Will this be good enough? And also, how fast do they grow?

Thanks alot.