Too much??

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by Scorpion

is there such a thing as having too many snails and/or hermits in your tank? i was thinking about getting:

- 10 dwarf zebra hermits (left handed hermits)
- 10 blue leg hermits
- 10 red leg hermits
- 20 nasarius snails

Yes, it is possible to have too many. Where did you get that list from? Is it part of a "clean-up crew"?
I've never understood where the numbers come from for those "clean-up crews". It always seems like too many critters.

In my 204g main tank, I think I have 3 hermits and 20 snails total.
Jon's right, if there's not enough food, they'll die.
You shouldn't be getting hair algae in there anyways, has your tank been up for long, and is there a chance that you may be overfeeding?
Detritus accumulation over time will contribute to hair algae growth.
Low calcium concentrations and/or unstable water conditions can lead to early snail death. Have you been testing your water?

Mitch