The Trouble with Turbo's

[Charterreefer]

I bought some turbos last month to battle a red turf algae (gelidium) problem that I was having. They were said to be very capable of eating it. And eat it they did. However, soon after putting them in the tank they started dying off. Then I remembered why I stopped keeping them in my tank years ago...they slowly die! Went back in google land and reacquainted myself with turbos. They usually come from semi-tropical waters and really don't like temperatures above 74-75 degrees. They slowly bake! And, I would think that at 75 deg they are getting pretty stressed out. What a shame. The most voracious algae eaters that I ever saw, only to see them slowly die.

Does anyone know any company that has turbo grazers that are regularly taken from more tropical waters where the turbos are used to 77-78 degree water?

 

[20 gallon nano]

I had turbo snails in my tanks for a long time, I got them from Petco but I got rid of them because they were too big and kept tumbling my rocks down.

 

[Charterreefer]

I believe it depends on where the turbos are collected from. I would like to find a supplier that knows where they are coming from... tropical water temps not semi tropical temps. I would be taking another chance otherwise. All other critters live long in my tank. Got these and watched them slowly die off. Have a few left.

 

[Topekoms]

Turbos can't flip back over so it might not be temps they could be getting stuck. That is why I prefer trocus

 

[wkscott]

Most turbos in the trade in the US come from Mexico. Primarily from areas around Baja California. These waters are just not tropical so the species can't tolerate the tropical temps in our tanks. Apparently they only live in these cooler waters.
Of course, the importers/distributors of Mexican turbos are aware of this but they sell them to hobbyists because, well...we buy them.
This is similar to hobbyists that purchase Catalina gobies and Garibaldis and then try to keep them in unnatural higher temps.
Zebra turbos do a great job at eating algae and they come from tropical Asian waters. A better long-term choice.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I have had snails in my tank that have lasted for years and are still going strong but I can't keep turbos for more than 3 months. They do a GREAT job cleaning and their shells make great upgrades for my hermits but they die alot. They die so often that I stopped buying them, I just feel too guilty putting things in my tank to die. It's a shame they are sold in this hobby. It just doesn't seem right.