Looking for a few snails to help clean and aerate the sand in my multi tank. I was considering the MTS, but someone suggested the prambanan because it isn't asexual like the MTS.

I would steer away from the MTS. They will likely take over in numbers. I haven't had any of the other type you mention. I have had good luck with nerite snails and algae but not so sure about them aerating sand. They don't dig like the MTS do.

thanks, for confirming the effectiveness of the nerite. How effective would one of those guy be in a 5 gallon tank? They only eat algae, right? Since my water is so soft here, I have to use equilibrium to harden it a little anyway. I only have the jungle strips for hardness testing. I try to keep it right in the middle range. I hope that would be ok for snails.

I believe you are right about the MTS. I asking my LFS guy to find out more about the Prambanan and see if they can get them. Someone from from shelldwellers.com said she had they and that they were great in the sand.

I've taken several hundred MTSs out of a 55 gallon over the past coupla weeks. The pufferfish enjoy 'em, but it sure is a PITA. They do multiply like crazy.

My experience with snails outside the common "pesty" types is minimal, but with soft water be careful with your selection. Soft water can attribute to shell erosion. IIRC, several of the nerite species offered as freshwater snails are actually brackish species acclimated to fresh water and do best in harder water. Ya might want to dig a little deeper into which species those are before ya purchase any. Some snail species (actually the same holds true with shrimp, as well) do better in soft water and some do better in hard water. I've gotten the hardness down in a couple of my SA tanks, and the shells on the pond snails are so brittle that the glowlight and gold tetras in that tank have been feeding on them by picking' the shell away from the body opening until the snail can't retreat back any further. Then the tetra can get a good bite and pull the body out. If I had a decent camera I'd take ya a pic of the ramshorns in that tank. The shells are visibly eroding.

What kind of nerites do you have, DD?

WYite

I have an olive nerite and it does very well but then again my water is on the hard side.