Turbo snail lifespan

[frostbite1]

I find that Turbo snails seem to live 3-6 months. normal advice would have 100 snails in my tank, but short of flicking 100 snails to be sure they're not 'resting' (because I can't stand them decomposing in there) what do others do? the Hermits don't mind because they're a good meal and make for handy housing upgrades, what is the life span of these snails in other people's experience, do you have a convenient method to keep track of 100+ snails to ensure the 'decomposers' get turfed?
thx

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
Turbo lives for years. If they die prematurely, it is because they are starved, or the water parameter is not suitable.

Being a cynic, I agree with you for having that many snails to feed the decomposers. The scavengers will generate lots of nitrate, make more algea, and you will ending up buying more snails to "control" your algea problem. Nothing better than a endless cycle if you are in the business, don't you think?

Aquarium is a complex system, and there is no single thing that you have to do to solve a problem. Turbo snail is only effective for your algea problem if you combine it with other procedures.

 

[Anonymous]

12 Turbo snails in my 125 gallon since May. All are still alive. Before I got fish, I had to feed them with Seaweed selects, since they used up all the algae in about a month. Now things are more balanced with 6 fish and 3 shrimp in the tank.

 

[desktopsilver]

my astreas are going on two years

 

[wedfr]

Ive had a few die on me about a month after i got them, my tank has gotten so disgusting form them rotting in there, the water is brown you cant see more then a foot and a half to 2 feet into the tank. it horrible. i havent had any truoble with the astreas so far though. is it normal for them to foul the water that bad or do i have another problem im not aware of? no fish in the tank so far

 

[Anonymous]

wedfr

8O

Did you ever consider removing them from the tank once they died? Or at least once they fouled the water. If you have enough live rock and scavengers available, sometimes this isn't necessary, since they will probably get eaten overnight, but it sounds like your situation is different.

 

[Reefguide]

I have probably 7-8 in my 29g and thats from a batch of about 13-14 that i put in there about 1 1/2 years ago. My hermits have gotten quite big and I'm expecting them to become food shortly.

wedfr, Your problem is most definately not a snail decompossing issue. IMO anyways...

 

[brokekyle]

I've had them live for years..( I wanna say 8+ years but I have added afew)
but..they don't ship well so when you purchase them I suggest you ALMOST double what you really need.. HOWEVER.. I never go by the snail per gallon rule... My rule of thumb is... 1 snail per 10# of live rock..with this I beleive you'll have them live for years...FWIW..I think I have 7 or 8 turbos in a 125..

 

[Desolas]

I have one that is about 3 years old, as far as when I got it. It was already about the size of a golf ball when I got it, and it has not gotten much bigger. I had two, but one found an open powerhead.

They should live many years if fed properly.

 

[Ryan22]

I lost about 15 of them over the last year, but I discovered that they were being picked off by a rock crab that had gone unnoticed in the tank for that time. Got the crab out, and the problem stoped. I will say though that they seem like a pretty helpless species. Everyday I have to flip at least one rightside up again. It makes me wonder how the species has survived when something as simple as falling off a rock and ending up on it's back is a death sentence.

 

[Diatomic Bomb]

Normal rule I've heard for turbo snails is 1 per 10 gallons. Unless you've got a 1000 gallon tank, I'd say yours are probably starving to death.

 

[Anonymous]

Low calcium is very detrimental to snails. Also, bristleworms often suffocate them with a mucous blob then partially eat them, leaving them looking like they just keeled over and died.

Have seen evidence of slime or mucous on any of your dead-finds?

Post your Ca, Alk, pH and phosphate. I'm guessing water quality might be the smoking gun.

 

[frostbite1]

I too had 2 rock crabs that made bee-lines for fresh meat. I trapped them and tossed him out in the frozen sidewalk, what an unique find for kids on their way to school, I also had one of those proboscis snails (the kind that bores through tridacnids?) who also made bee-lines for the fresh meat, tossed him out too.
100 gal tank with sump, no substrate, all water is RO, Alk is a little low, Ca 350, ph 8.3, phosphate0, nitrate 0, salinity is down to 1.15 due to emergency top offs following some major skimmer overflows, lighting 2x150W MH/2x48 actinic flourescents, live rock~100#,(6+ years in the tank).
1 blood shrimp inhabitant and some snails and crabs (previous neglect followed by 400km move had all the fishies crab food)
I am dripping Kalk regularly i.e. 1 litre/2 days, adding TectraCB, and have prepared some 1.35 salinity water to drip in to bring salinity back to 1.25. 0 mortality with hermits, they have actually outgrown their first homes and moved into Turbo shells. this wouldn't be so bad except Turbos and hermits are expensive only to die (usually hidden somewhere) and load the water before I can find them. no evidence of slime on the dead finds but lots of opercula, probably pried off by the hermits, there is plenty of caulerpa and other algaes for the turbos to munch, brown hair algae is present, bryopsis, enteromorpha.