My Turbo Snail Isn't Very Turbo

[ben3486]

So I have had the tank running and cycling for about 4 weeks and went to swallow aquatics and got my water tested by them and some advice as I'm desperate for two clowns but I'm trying to be patient. They said its not ready yet but I could get a cuc. At least I have some thing in my tank to watch now. I got two Mexican hermit crabs, one blue and one red, and I also got a turbo snail. He is pink lol. I plopped them all in after acclimatising them and stuff and all seemed fine. The hermits are going crazy all over the rock and seem very well. The turbo snail though made its way across the substrate to the glass, got onto the glass and hasn't moved since. I thought he'd be like the hermits and be off exploring. Does this sound normal or was I expecting too much from their turbo name haha.

 

[Xraymark]

Give him time. To be fair with snails they are like watching paint dry. Look away for a bit and he will on the opposite side of the tank. LOL.



Or he is a bit sensitive after acclimation. One of mine died fairly soon after being introduced. Moved a bit then stopped forever.

 

[ben3486]

It's the stopping for ever bit I'm worried about. He has been there for a few hours now. hopefully he is just "jet lagged" or something haha. He got across my crushed coral quite quickly and happily. Maybe he has just found a really tasty bit of glass.

 

[Donya]

How did you acclimate the snail? Was it active at the store?

Turbo is the genus name (e.g. Turbo fluctuosus) but it is often misapplied to snails in other genera, such as Tegula.

 

[ben3486]

I didn't really watch him at the store. The guy was talking me through what I could have and I decided two hermits and a snail would do for now. I wasn't prepared to experiment with my first go at marine and my first inhabitants to be the £20 boxer shrimp he was offering. So I picked two lively hermits and he pointed out the pink snail. I figured pink as it was a bit more interesting than a normal looking white one. Hopefully he perks up. As for acclimatising I put some of my water into the bag to make a 50-50 mix and let the bag float for ten mins as advised in the store. My water in the tank has been system water from the store as it was a new tank and they said they'd give me their system water to kick start and help my new tank. The hermits are stupidly active. The snail is still attached/sucking onto the glass so I guess that's some thing. Hopefully when I wake up he is mooching about some where else. Hopefully just some tasty glass.

 

[Bugdozer]

Funnily enough I was talking to one of the staff at my local aquarium about their turbo snails yesterday. He says the name is totally ironic as they do spend very long periods stationary or moving only incredibly slowly.

 

[Donya]

As for acclimatising I put some of my water into the bag to make a 50-50 mix and let the bag float for ten mins as advised in the store.

This is a very risky way to do it and often results in snails that are suddenly sluggish after acclimation, which can ultimately lead to death within a day or two with some. Hopefully the water in the bag wasn't too different from the tank water in this case, but your LFS gave you very poor advice on how to acclimate an invertebrate. Please have a read here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/405502-acclimation-methods/

Hopefully just some tasty glass.

Grazing snails move and eat while walking; they don't stay in one place. Snails will stay in one place to rest after several hours of grazing, but it is also a stress response and very common for long periods in snails that have been stressed by shipping or other environmental changes.

If you can get a picture of the snail it would also be useful to know what species it is. In general, getting interesting-colored animals for variety without knowing at least the genus isn't a great idea. There are some pink-ish snails (a species of Norrisia) that are actually quite difficult to feed in most tanks because of their specialized diets, and they show up in the trade occasionally.

 

[BigTuna]

I've had some issues with snails during my experience. Turbo snails have been the go to snail for me, but they seem to be the most sensitive thing I have in my tank.  The six nassarius snails I've got have been fine since the day I've introduced them.  Hermit Crabs have been fine as well.  My one emerald crab, has disappeared from time to time, but always shows up again eventually.  But the turbos, well more often than I'd like I see empty shells overturned, empty.  My go to guy at the LFS store has told me that inverts will die, and not to worry about it.  Still, I can't imagine it's normal to lose a snail a week or whatever it has been?  The only thing I can think of is that perhaps they are a bit more sensative to calcium levels?  Its the one parameter that I know I run too low because of my FOWLR set up.  I've been told I don't really need to worry about it until I start thinking about adding corals.

 

[Donya]

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps they are a bit more sensative to calcium levels?  Its the one parameter that I know I run too low because of my FOWLR set up.  I've been told I don't really need to worry about it until I start thinking about adding corals.

 
Snails can be shocked by sudden changes in pH (related to calcium and KH) and salinity. Temperature can also do it sometimes, but not little changes - more like taking a near freezing snail out of the post and dropping it in a tropical tank. Tidal animals will have more resilience to those sorts of shifts, but it's always better to be safe than sorry (check the difference and acclimate accordingly), since there is rarely a recovery once that happens. See what your calcium is if the store will test it just to see if anything is funky. It's also a good idea to check salinity and pH on the tank and the bag water before deciding how to acclimate the animals. For example, if you're running at 1.025sg and the store's tank is at 1.018 to fend of ich, that's a big enough difference to kill some inverts if they go through the shift too fast. I wouldn't assume that the water is at standard reef params from a store that thinks that rapid invert deaths are normal.
 
 

Still, I can't imagine it's normal to lose a snail a week or whatever it has been?

 
It's either an acclimation issue or they got in ill snails because of shipping stress or whatever. Stores can mess up the handling of their inverts upon arrival just as hobbyists can, and sometimes shipments of snails arrive in an obviously sick and inactive state and there's not much that can be done about it. An odd death or two in a week out of a large batch of animals is common because of those sorts of issues and shipping stress. However, most snails (those suitable for tropical tanks anyway) should last at least a couple of years or longer if cared for properly. There are short-lived invert species, but a week means something has gone wrong.

 

[BigTuna]

Since I began I've never once seen the LFS anywhere but at 1.025sg. I don't think they believe rapid death is normal. Anyways, it seems as though the snails are fine for weeks after acclimation so I don't believe that to be the case. My water may change a few degrees here and there but doesnt ever seem to get lower than 77 or higher than 79. I know I've had a few particular turbos for months now, so it's not even consistent throughout the entire stock.

Thanks for your help on all of the topics, Donya, your knowledge is very much appreciated, btw