Yup, you're right. 14 hermits is too many. Many people don't put them in their tanks at all anymore. But if you feel the need I would go with advice once given to me as 1 per 10 gallons. Exactly what kind of hermits do you have over there?
Your astraea are appropriate for the size tank you have. I actually don't recommend them in larger systems because they are harder to keep an eyeball on and these guys will need daily turning over. They come from an environment where there is little risk of them being flipped over on their backs so they have not developed the ability to right themselves. BUT I also don't recommend astraea with hermits. Hermits are meat eaters... it's who they are. None are obligatory algae eaters. And then add a snail who can't right himself..... lunch couldn't be any easier.
What does your turbo look like? Is it a tan colored kind of large snail or is it an kind of black/gray one that looks something like this.
Sometimes either of these snails can be called a turbo snail. Three of the tan ones is too many. You will get away with one but there has to be a good production of food for it to eat. If it's similar to the one in the picture they are a cool water species and do not belong in a tank above 70 degrees at its highest.
What you stock your tank with will depend on the individual needs of your tank. I know... sketchy answer. But here is how I would go about it...... A very loose stocking ratio is 1 snail per gallon (not the turbos). That is optimum stocking numbers.... no room for adding in the furture. So, I would get half that number now. For the new 100 gallon I am putting up this weekend I am going to stock it with 50 snails and a mixture of them. You want to cover all the different nuisance "algaes" and you also don't want all of the snails to be competing for the same food while they starve and another algae goes unchecked. So mix it up! I love vibex. They are obligate scavengers on meaty foods. Dropped food... dead/dying animals.... they are with the program. (What sort of substrate do you have?) But they won't do anything for your algae besides reducing the fuel to grow them. Nerites are wonderful little snails and love microalgae. Mine prefer cruising around the glass. I don't think I have seen them on the substrate or rock yet and I've had them for over a year. Trochus snails eat diatoms and microalgae but are a little harder to come by. Astraea are good if their are no hermits. Ceriths are good. No bumble bees... they are a predatory whelk.
So, you get a mixture of those guys, throw them in, and sit back and wait for you tank to tell you what it needs. You have a cyano outbreak, add more cyano eaters. You have hair algae, add more hair algae eaters.
That's what I would do. If you must add the hermit, one per 10 gallons and nix the astraea.
Reply With Quote
