Turbo snail

[2ndwave]

How long do turbo snails live?? I recently lost 3 and can't figure out why. All the tank parameters check out ok.
Any thoughts or ideas?? Thanks

[DocJim]

Not enough food.

[Tayler]

what are the other inhabitants of the tank

[Lightning_Rider]

Did they flip themselves over? Mine always fall on their sides or upside down and if I don't get to them in time they die.

You gotta watch turban snails since they are notorious for doing this. I find them really annoying! I think I will avoid purchasing those kind of snails in the future.

[2ndwave]

Yeah ususally I find them upside down and sometimes don't get to them in time hopefully thats all it is. Tank mates are purple tang, powder brown tang, false clown, black damsel, 4 scarlett hermits, 1 cleaner shrimp all in a 125

[RumLad]

Some, if not most, of the "turbo" snails sold in the hobby are actually a variety of snail that come from the cold waters off of Mexico. They can survive for a while in our reef tanks, but will eventually succumb to the warm water that we provide. I don't really know how to identify which snails these are or how to identify them in an LFS. There have been some links posted from reefkeeper about this, I'll see if I can find a good one.

here are the columns:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.php

[pagojoe]

Yup, RumLad told ya the truth. The warm water in reef tanks shortens the lives of the "Mexican Turbos" considerably. They aren't sold for the aquarium market because they are particularly suitable, but rather because they are easier (and cheaper) to obtain than the warm-water species. The most common cool-water species being sold are Turbo fluctuosus, though some may be Turbo saxosus. Here are links to the ones that don't last very long in warm tanks:

http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_2442.html

http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_2443.html

The ones that would work better, if you could find them (and tell the difference) are probably Turbo argyrostomus, Turbo chrysostomus, Turbo setosus, Turbo bruneus, and Turbo crassus. These live in the same areas where most of your corals and fish originate. All of them get pretty big, maybe 2 to 4 inches across.

http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_1514.html

http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_249.html

http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_2435.html

http://www.gastropods.com/8/Shell_248.html

http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_2437.html



Cheers,



Don