
In aquariums, these snails will also feed on leftover shrimp or fish food, such as pills, flakes, pellets, algae/spirulina wafers, frozen foods, etc. Important: Mexican turbo snails need a lot of food, so be prepared to supplement with herbivore pellets, (algae pellets, dried algae, etc.) if you do not have enough algae growth.
What do turbo snails eat in an aquarium?
The Turbo Snail is extremely popular among reef aquarium hobbyists, since it quickly eliminates large amounts of nuisance algae. It is particularly fond of hair algae and will consume mass quantities of it and other algae off your live rock and aquarium glass. The Turbo Snail is native to the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico.
How do you take care of a Turbo Snail?
The peaceful Turbo Snail should not be kept with aggressive tankmates that can quickly overcome this slow-moving creature. If algae levels are insufficient, supplement the diet of the Turbo Snail with dried seaweed. Also, adequate calcium levels are required to help this member of the Turbinidae family build its protective shell.
What kind of calcium do Mexican turbo snails need?
Like all snails, Mexican turbo snails need calcium either in their diet or in the water (ideally, both) to make their shells hard enough to sustain their body. They have shells, which consist of calcium. Keeping calcium levels between 350 and 450 ppm is best.
Are Mexican turbo snails reef safe?
Mexican turbo snails are not a burrower type of snails and remain active and spend the vast majority of their time below the waterline. Therefore, the risk of escaping is pretty low. Are the Mexican Turbo Snails Reef Safe? Yes, they are reef safe. Mexican Turbo snails will not damage anything in a reef tank on purpose.

What should I feed my turbo snail?
Diet / Foods : Herbivore, mainly algae. You can try to supplement their diet with dried seaweed. Having live rock is beneficial because it can constantly graze on it for food. Limit the amount of snails if you're also keeping algae grazers such as some of the Tang species.
What do Mexican turbo snails eat?
The herbivore Mexican turbo snail feeds on algae, including hair algae, cyanobacteria and diatoms, and is therefore a popular addition to marine aquariums with algae problems since it will devour algae types shunned by many other algae-eaters.
Do turbo snails eat seaweed?
Only put turbo snails in aquariums with lots of live rock with light algae growth for them to eat. If they exhaust their supply of algae, you will need to provide supplemental foods. You can wedge dried seaweed between pieces of live rock to provide your snails with extra food.
How long do Mexican turbo snails live?
A turbo snail has a typical lifespan of around 10-12years in ideal tank parameters, and usually are around 4 years old when you buy them. This leaves them to live for a good 8 years within your reef, which should see them thrive.
Do turbo snails eat fish food?
In aquariums, these snails will also feed on leftover shrimp or fish food, such as pills, flakes, pellets, algae/spirulina wafers, frozen foods, etc. Important: Mexican turbo snails need a lot of food, so be prepared to supplement with herbivore pellets, (algae pellets, dried algae, etc.)
Do turbo snails eat algae wafers?
I feed my snails and hermits those algae wafers they make for freshwater Pleco's. Nori is too messy for my taste. I break 2 of the small sized wafers into small pieces and that feeds 15 hermits (blue legs and scarlets) and my various turbo's and astreas.
Do Mexican turbo snails eat hair algae?
The Mexican Turbo Snails we will send are fairly large, about 75% of their adult size. They eat a good amount of hair algae, and if there is insufficient food in your tank they should be fed edible filamentous macro algae or seaweed sheets.
How fast do turbo snails grow?
5" to their shells in 3 months.
Do turbo snails reproduce in a tank?
They release eggs (and sperm) to the water column, which fertilize and develop in to snail larvae. After some time as pelagic larvae, they settle down onto substrate as miniature versions of adults. Turbo snails breeding in captivity (in an aquarium setting) is very rare.
Can turbo snails live in freshwater?
Turbo snails, on the other hand, are voracious eaters and may starve if you do not offer them algae or vegetable wafers. Another benefit that nerite snails have over turbo snails is that they can be used in both freshwater and saltwater applications -- turbo snails are solely for saltwater aquarium use.
Can turbo snails right themselves?
Trochus Snails Able to right themselves up, Trochus don't require the attention some other species do. In addition, they can breed in the home aquarium!
Do turbo snails sleep?
Snails sleep very differently from other inhabitants of the water. Most fish are diurnal, meaning that they're active in the day and asleep at night, but snails don't have a daily schedule. Instead of a 24-hour sleeping cycle, a snail's sleep cycle lasts for 2-3 days.
Do Mexican turbo snails eat hair algae?
The Mexican Turbo Snails we will send are fairly large, about 75% of their adult size. They eat a good amount of hair algae, and if there is insufficient food in your tank they should be fed edible filamentous macro algae or seaweed sheets.
Do Mexican turbo snails eat coral?
They definitely don't eat corals either.
Can turbo snails live in freshwater?
Turbo snails, on the other hand, are voracious eaters and may starve if you do not offer them algae or vegetable wafers. Another benefit that nerite snails have over turbo snails is that they can be used in both freshwater and saltwater applications -- turbo snails are solely for saltwater aquarium use.
Do turbo snails eat brown algae?
Saltwater/Marine Species that Eat Brown Algae Mexican Turbo snails (Turbo fluctuosa) – turbos are also very efficient at eating diatoms off of live rock, tank walls and substrate.
What is the best snail to clean up a reef tank?
A Mexican turbo snail is one of the best members of the clean-up crew that you can possibly have within your reef tank. They would ensure that your tank is spotless.
Where are turbo snails found?
The turbo snails (Turbo fluctuosa) are found within crevices on reefs in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. They stay in these during the day, moving very rarely and are active during the night time. They would leave the reef only to graze on algae.

Description
- Peaceful temperament.
- Reef compatible.
- Herbivore diet.
- Maximum size: 2 inches.
Tank Mates
- These snails are peacefuland will stay out of the way of all fish and other invertebrates. They do well with other snails. They do not do well in tanks with any aggressive fishdue to the fact that they move so slowly. These snails could displace some coral colonies, however, this is not on purpose.
Tank Setup & Diet
- A turbo snail can live within a tank of any size. They release very little biowaste, and as a result, would be fine in most conditions. They enjoy having a rockin which they are able to hide in during the day. They do like to live on the glass, so a tank with a large surface area would be hugely beneficial. A snail of this species likes very generi...
Breeding
- Within a home aquarium,they do not generally successfully breed, making breeding incredibly difficult. In the wild, these snails would release eggs and sperm into the water column, which would then fertilize each other to breed. These will develop into larvae. Turbo snails are impossible to sexas there are no differentiating factors that would change between the sexes. T…
Common Issues
- The main issue to a snail’s health is when you acclimatize them. As they are so sensitive to water parameter changes, even the smallest change can kill them slowly. They are known to die around 6 months after the introduction as a result of poor acclimatization. You would need to make sure that you complete essential drip acclimatization to ensure that the snail is healthy.
Closing Thoughts
- A Mexican turbo snail is one of the best members of the clean-up crew that you can possibly have within your reef tank. They would ensure that your tank is spotless. These snails are great for beginners or seasoned members of the reefing community. Please feel free to leave any comments or ask any questions about these snails!