Turbo snails running out of algae?

M

Misterchinn

New member
I have a small tank (26 gal), with 13 gal sump/fuge with skimmer and chaeto. In DT, I have 12 pounds of LR + 12 pounds of dead rock on its way to becoming LR. 1 false perc, 1 royal gramma. 2 turbo snails, 2 red legged hermit crabs (which I never see).

After the initial diatom bloom (used tap water to fill it), I switched to RO/DI and reduced light duration and added the Chaeto, so my tank has been cleaned up quite a bit, with the snails and crabs doing their thing brilliantly, and Nitrates dropping to 0.

Noob Question: The snails seem to be running out of surfaces with algae. Is it possible for them to not get enough food because the tank is too clean? I guess they'll find something to eat, but should I supplement with anything just in case?
 
They will find other stuff to eat, but if you'd like to give them a little treat from time to time, rubberband some dried seaweed to a rock and drop it to the bottom.
 
Snails often seem to starve to death. I'd give them away. They might be able to live on nori, but I don't see the point of having a cleanup crew that you need to feed.
 
bertoni said:
Snails often seem to starve to death. I'd give them away. They might be able to live on nori, but I don't see the point of having a cleanup crew that you need to feed.
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+1 - My first casualty I ever had was a Mexican Turbo... had him for a few weeks... good params... then just up and died... Took me a while to figure out I starved him to death... I would pass him along to someone with a greater food source... If you wanted to keep an algea eater as part of your cuc I would suggest maybe 1-2 Astrea snails and maybe some Collonista's. I would be careful with the number of Collonista's you add though as the can multiply to undesirable numbers in some tanks...

Good luck.
 
From what I read, Mexican Turbos prefer cooler waters and don't do too well in upper-70s or 80s. All my Turbos died while other snails seem to go on forever.
 
Ok, thanks for the input. I'll keep an eye on rocks and maybe drop in some nori, but man, they don't call them turbo for nothing, they're really good.

On a side note, would a cleaner shrimp have the same problem, or would it scavange left over food that my fish miss and other detritus?

Another side note: Jonathan B., good reef clubs in the SF area? I joined BAreefers, but haven't posted there, are you a member?
 
Toly said:
From what I read, Mexican Turbos prefer cooler waters and don't do too well in upper-70s or 80s. All my Turbos died while other snails seem to go on forever.
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Here are the recommended params from fostersmith:

Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.023-1.025, pH 8.4-8.4

On a side note, would a cleaner shrimp have the same problem, or would it scavange left over food that my fish miss and other detritus?
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most shrimp are carnivores so they will eat the both of the above... my peppermint actually will scurry to the top of the tank when I feed and grab chunks of food fairly aggressively.
 
You should be ok with two turbo snails. You don't need a diatom bloom just to keep them alive.
The cleaner shrimp will find a way to eat when you feed your fish.
 
sruiz said:
You should be ok with two turbo snails. You don't need a diatom bloom just to keep them alive.
The cleaner shrimp will find a way to eat when you feed your fish.
Click to expand...

I guess the question is when did he start his tank? His sig show Dec-09 so if he just started the tank would he have enough algea to support the Turbo's? I did the same as the poster when I started up my tank and starved the snail to death as I hadnt allowed enough time for any significant algea growth.

As far as stocking 1 per 10 gallon is the recommended number.
 
Shrimp aren't cleanup crew, really. They'll eat leftover food, or will take food from your hand. They are fun to have, and should be fine.

I'm not a reef club member currently.
 
Just feed a little more and increase your photo period if you want to keep the snails. It's all about making the right adjustments. I'm sure the other critters will appreciate the extra light, and grub. Just b sure you ramp up gradually as to not stress or create a mess. If you can't do the extra lighting thing them dole out one of the turbos to a fellow reefer who may not b so fortunate to have such a pristine system. It's all about pay it forward.

DJ
 
aquatics junkie said:
feed them some algea like mentioned above. They have it for sale for tangs and such
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I dunno. I feed nori to my angels hand over fist, and haven't seen a single snail eat any of it. Most snails subsist primarily on micro algae, and turf algae. Unless you can get your hands on Gracillaria (a macro that some snails will eat - esp Strombus sp.), I'm thinking macros wouldn't do much for them.

DJ
 
I'm upgrading the lights before I get some soft corals, that should increase the algae growth on the rocks too I would think. I had the lights on a shorter cycle because I'm on break right now and only get to school (where I teach) every 3 days. Once school's back in I'll have a longer photoperiod and I'm getting new lights too.

I might try the nori treat or maybe the tang supplements. If not I'll find a home for them, or trade them back to the LFS. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Just bumping up an update...

So the tank is still not producing much algae (Gotta love the refugium!) So I got a little worried about the snails, so I put them IN the refugium and they're LOV'n the algae in there!

It's so cool to see the paths they're burning in the diatom/green algae on the glass. I hope the 24 hour photoperiod isn't bad for them. I'll probably move them back to the DT after the weekend, but for now I think they're happier with all the surfaces covered in algae.
 
Toly said:
From what I read, Mexican Turbos prefer cooler waters and don't do too well in upper-70s or 80s. All my Turbos died while other snails seem to go on forever.
Click to expand...


Not true at all...I kept LR in buckets for 6 months with temps in the low 80s and my turbo snails did great and still have them to this day :).
 
I just recently got a cleaner shrimp and a peppermint shrimp. The peppermint shrimp seems to be the only one really scavenging. But the cleaner shrimp is really aggressive when I feed mysis and brine shrimp to my fish. I use a turkey baster and he jumps on it and scoops up all that he can. My clowns used to come up to the baster and eat as it comes out. But now they keep their distance and feed on what escapes the shrimp. I rarely see him scavenging and it's usually only when I feed pellets.
 
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