I'm new to the aquarium scene. Right now i have a ten gal. with one fancy goldfish in it. I've got the filter, light, hood, gravel, decorations, and a few live plants, things are looking great. But i'm still getting some scuz on the glass and i was considering an algea eating fish to help me out between cleanings. After doing some reasearch I found our that wasn't a good idea.
But what about Snails? There are alot of different kinds and I don't want to hurt Lacey (my goldfish) or the snail. Any advice for a newbie?

I keep a couple snails with my goldfish but your tank is not large enough to handle the extra bio load so I would not add anything till you get a bigger tank.

Yup. Snails need 2.5 each and don't clean your tank as commonly mis-reported. They need actual food like zucchini and dark greens for their shells.

Hey Pixie,
So you are saying that I could keep a snail in my 2.5gal tank if it was all by itself?

Sure. A golden apple will be fine in a 2.5 but it must be fully cycled with a filter. Snails react very quickly the minute the water params are at all 'off'. Check that the PH is high enough - low alkalinity will need something like crushed coral to buffer up. Snails need quite a lot of hardness for their shell to remain healthy.
I've had 2 big fat apples in my time and I loved watching them glide across the tank.

Hmm, that is something to think about. I have this 2.5 gal tank just sitting here and I hate for it to go to waste. I may think about getting a snail one day for it. Thanks!!!