INVERTS: How many are too many?

[sterling]

I developed a hair algae problem, I believe from a new product for corals I tried, it's like DT's but has one other form of algae/phytoplanton, and I used it twice and boom.......hair algae growing when I have never had the problem before. I have quit using the product and have gotten some other animals that may (I hope) help clear the hair algae out.
But how many critters can you put in a tank before overpopulating with them. I've never really seen a thread regarding this.
This is what I have:
many red-legged and bumblebee hermits
many snails
2 cleaner shrimp
1 harlequin brittle star (who I NEVER see, I only know it's still alive because at night with the flashlight I can see it's legs stick out from under a rock, and they still move)
porcelein crab (hitchhicker)
a couple of other hitchhiker crabs
and I just bought for the hair algae:
2 lettuce nudibranches
2 sally lightfoots
So am I ok still?

 

[schroder_reef]

It depends on how big your tank is. But what Ive found to work well are snails. I usually get way more snails than crabs. Snails eat more and you can see results faster in my opinion. To sum it up go with a few more snails. (astrea are best in my experience)

 

[leigh]

Yeah, mexican snails work great on hair algae!

 

[sterling]

Ok, so more snails. But, still wondering if there could be an overload problem at some point.
I have a 125 gallon with lots of rock.

 

[leigh]

i wouldn't worry bout that...i mean don't go nuts...but get say 5 of them and add more as need be...if you're really worried about them long term you could always throw in algae sheets...or return some to your lfs...how much is your 'a bunch' of snails currently anyhow? are we talking half dozen? dozens? what?...

 

[schroder_reef]

Yeah I really wouldnt worry about that. I had around 100 snails in my 180 and about 40 crabs and I never had problems losing any or anything. For a 125 you can have probably up to 70 - 80 snails and 30 crabs or so. They will clean your tank up nicely. The only problem with snails is watching them to make sure they dont stay tipped over for a long time. Thats why I like the astrea snails. The margaritas tend to tip themselves over alot, like they have a slick shell or something.