Lifespan of Trochus snails?

[StrangeDejavu]

Anyone know how long these guys last in aquariums? I bought 5 of them 2 months ago, two are nickel/dime sized and three are quarter sized. Few days ago I noticed one of them was on its back, so I flipped it over. It got on another Trochus' back and I eventually found it in the sand flipped over again. I flipped it back over and this morning, I woke up to it on its back and my Super Tongan Nassarius making quick work of it. On the other side of the tank, I found another one on its back so I put it on the rockwork and it hasn't moved at all today. The only changes that have happened parameter wise is i'm slowly transitioning the tank over from regular IO to Reef Crystals. Since these were my two biggest snails, either they reached the end of the road already or they're starving which I find hard to believe since i'm still in my diatom phase. Coral are showing great polyp extension and the cleaner shrimp is doing great, so I don't think it's an invert problem. How long do these guys usually last?

Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 7.9
Cal: 410
Alk: 9.5
Mag: 1270
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 3
Phosphate: 0.02

 

[Jeff4777]

I have about 5 trochus/turban snails. They are all almost 3 years old. Weird thing is they don't reproduce like my cerith, nassarius, stomatellas, & nerite do

I rarely see turbans upside down but when I do I just leave them. The high flow combined with another critter walking by them for them to grab onto always uprights snails for me at least.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

What's weird is the first week I added these Trochus, I watched one of them spray out white mist and the entire tank got cloudy. I did some Googling and found out they were spawning. Now I lose two within the span of 4 days. Not sure why.

 

[Sk8r]

I won't buy them. Ceriths, nerites, etc fine. Life's too short to have to get in with chopsticks and flip snails that can't crawl on sand.

 

[LuizW13]

They most likely die shortly after spawning, that's my guess. Lots of of creatures do that.

 

[reelfreak]

Trochus are my preference for the "turbo type", since they can right themselves. I have had them reproduce in the tank with babies growing large. I do replenish them on occasion a handful at a time. Nerite , cerinth, Mexican turbo and nassarius are my others I keep.

I personally won't touch astrea turbos since they don't seem to right themselves, and my hermits will sometimes attack them. I run crabs, contrary to many who dislike them, as I like their cleaning efforts.

 

[Potatohead]

I won't buy them. Ceriths, nerites, etc fine. Life's too short to have to get in with chopsticks and flip snails that can't crawl on sand.

Trochus can flip themselves back over. Along with ceriths and nassarius are IMO the best snails to have. Astrea snails looks similar to Trochus, but cannot flip themselves back up.

 

[Animagus]

I've had this one for at least 3 or 4 years now. (maybe longer) When I added a second one it didn't take very long for babies to show up.

As far as snails not being able to right themselves goes, I haven't had any problems with any of the snails mentioned above. (Astrea, Trochus, Cerith etc) It might take some of them longer than others to do, but eventually it happens. Dying of starvation is an extremely slow process, so if a crab doesn't eat the snail while it's on it's back time is definitely on it's side.

 

[StrangeDejavu]

Dying of starvation is an extremely slow process, so if a crab doesn't eat the snail while it's on it's back time is definitely on it's side.

Funny you say that because the one I placed on the rockwork was on his back being eaten by a hermit this morning. I tossed him out before work. I have no explanation aside from starving or old age, but again, I have diatoms all over the sand so it's not like the tank is sterile. Gonna keep an eye on my other three.