can you overkill on crabs and snails?

[tableforglasses]

Hey guys
I have a 150 gallon tank and I need to replenish my cleaning crew. I was looking at some different packages here and around. Some have 50 Blueleg Hermit Crab and 50 Turbo/Astrea Snail. Some around 75 of each. Is that overkill on the tank? Is there a point when enough is enough, just want to get the right thing for my reef tank.

 

[usirchchris]

Originally Posted by tableforglasses
http:///forum/post/2734921
Hey guys
I have a 150 gallon tank and I need to replenish my cleaning crew. I was looking at some different packages here and around. Some have 50 Blueleg Hermit Crab and 50 Turbo/Astrea Snail. Some around 75 of each. Is that overkill on the tank? Is there a point when enough is enough, just want to get the right thing for my reef tank.
In my experience it is difficult to pin point a number when it comes to the cleaning crew...too many different factors, but it all comes down to consumption and available nutrients. If you have more consumption than readily available food there arises the possibility of starvation unless you target feed, but it becomes difficult when you are talking 100's of inverts. JMHO, but yes you can overkill.

 

[usirchchris]

Sorry I did not really help you as far as a number goes. I will give you an example of one of my tanks. My 125 is a fowlr with 5 fish in it. All of them are 2" or under. As far as inverts go. I have 3 turbo snails, about 6 or so nassarius,4 bumblebee snails, 8 hermits (don't mix hermits and snails IMO. Snails are hermit snacks...out of the two I much prefer snails). 1 coral banded shrimp- a cleaner shrimp-5 peppermint shrimp. 1 Knobby starfish, one serpent star. An arrow crab, had a decorator crab until three days ago

and three urchins. I may have 1 or 2 astrea snails left as well. This is an unconventional cleaner package

, but very effective. My nitrates never get above 20 (I am quite religous with water changes), and I have very little algae in my tank. Do some research on what you get as they all have different functions, and you would not want to make the mistake of putting something like an urchin in a reef tank. Hope this helps somewhat...only other advice I can give...start with a smaller package, if you still have an algae or uneaten food problem, buy more.

 

[tableforglasses]

that sounds good. It is just tempting when you see spending an $30-40 and get a lot more, but then you might not have enough algae and other things to sustain everything. I appreciate the feedback and welcome any other thoughts.

 

[oceansidefish]

I have a 60 and only have 4 smaller hermits, I find them to be destructive when they get bigger. I stopped buying them and just let my sand sifting star keep my bed clean. Cleaners and emerald crab handle the rest

 

[stanlalee]

all those reef packages (from everybody) are waaaaaay overdone. If you need what they say you need you have aquarium issues. I have 11 all purpose cerith and 9 astrea for liverock algae in my 30g and nothing else. In my old 100g I had 5 or 6 astrea for the liverock (once the rock is covered in coralline other algae and the need for cleaners isn't much of an issue), 10 small and 2 large nassarius for sand detritus, 10 all purpose cerith and 4 fighting conch for the sand diatoms (that tank had 4 anthias that required multiple feedings per day otherwise I would have skipped the nassarius). If you do overstock with cleaners natural selection will take its course and within 6-12 months and you wont have more than you need unless you actually feed to compensate for their survival or have a dirty tank that will sustain an overcrowded clean up crew. crabs are virtually useless. they cant touch snails for algae or detritus and I have yet to have a tank where meaty food went unnoticed and uneaten by fish. anything that falls out of reach I garuantee the natural hitch hikers will get to.