The truth about Mexican turbo snails?

[Lionfish hunter]

Like most things in this hobby, the internet seems to be loaded with misinformation on Mexican turbo snails. Many people claim they come from the west coast of Mexico where the waters are too cold. Some people claim they come from the east coast where the temps are much warmer. Does anybody have actual credible sources on where they come from? Many people claim they only last a few months at 80 degrees, others say they had them for years. Personal actual experience with Mexican turbo snails longterm? Many people are incorrect, that is a fact. The question is which people.

 

[Saltyreef]

I believe theyre collected in the gulf of mexico. Some are collected in the sea of cortez. Youll have to ask where the supplier sourced theirs from.


And ime they only live as long as your tank has enough algae for them to eat. Otherwise they die.

I had 4 about 2 years ago and they helped mr knock out a GHA outbreak.
They slowly died off and now i only have 1 left.
Like any organism that you put in your tank....they only live as long as you can sustain them.....

 

[Saltyanimals]

My 8 year old collected a couple off a barge in Cancun. The stiped ones which are interesting because they seem to prefer to sunbathe out of water on the barge by day and presumably back into the water in the evenings. They were less than 1 inch. Years later they're still in my tank and oh boy have they grown 3x the size. They move fast and interesting enough in our tank they stay hidden and never seen with the lights on, but they're very fast moving nocturnally. 2-3 years in my tank

 

[skey44]

I like my Mexican Turbos. Best lawn mowers I have. My LFS has some giants in their tanks that are obviously very old. I only have 2 in my 80 gallon so hopefully they don’t starve out!

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I had about 12 of them. Probably lost 4 the first 2 months. 6 of them lasted over a year and a half. Some got knocked upside down and died. The last one died after being in the tank a little over 2 years. I have no algae anywhere on the rocks or sand. The glass gets coated with a lot of algae much of the time.

 

[JZ199]

For me it's always been very random. My water parameters are usually super stable, so I would be curious to know where mine come from also because they seem to all live about the same time when purchased together. I've had groups that have lasted a few months to close to a year and all died off around the same time, the small group I have now (about 4) have been living for over a year happily.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I like them best of all the snails, they are amazing cleaners. But they always jam themselves into the rocks, like all other snails. At least once a month I find a snail shell jammed in somewhere. Thats why I only buy a few at a time.

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

There are many turbo species, the “Mexican Turbo” Turbo fluctuosus is endemic to the eastern pacific from Baja to northern Peru.

 

[EricR]

I've had four total, one left.
All bought from LFS labeled as Mexican turbo but who knows where they actually came from.
Each that has died lasted around 2 years in my tank.
*one experience (data point) there

 

[JayM]

I've tried to keep them a few times, none of them lasted a month. Same with Top Crown snails. I just can't keep large snails alive in my tank, even with plenty to eat.

 

[Salty716]

Like most things in this hobby, the internet seems to be loaded with misinformation on Mexican turbo snails. Many people claim they come from the west coast of Mexico where the waters are too cold. Some people claim they come from the east coast where the temps are much warmer. Does anybody have actual credible sources on where they come from? Many people claim they only last a few months at 80 degrees, others say they had them for years. Personal actual experience with Mexican turbo snails longterm? Many people are incorrect, that is a fact. The question is which people.

I have 4 palm sized ones for the last 3 years or so. As long as they eat they survive

 

[Saltyanimals]

I have 4 palm sized ones for the last 3 years or so. As long as they eat they survive

Palm size!!?? I immediately looked at my own palm when I read that. My large ones were 2.5-3 inch looking top down so can't imagine how large yours was.

 

[Salty716]

Palm size!!?? I immediately looked at my own palm when I read that. My large ones were 2.5-3 inch looking top down so can't imagine how large yours was.

This was one of my zebra turbos over a year and an half ago. I have a bunch of Mexicans, zebras, and top crowns that are bigger or similar size. Probably grown from 2 to 4 inches or so since I got them.

 

[Salty716]

This was one of my zebra turbos over a year and an half ago. I have a bunch of Mexicans, zebras, and top crowns that are bigger or similar size. Probably grown from 2 to 4 inches or so since I got them.

Update on my zebra turbo.

 

[spsick]

Update on my zebra turbo.

I have one about the same size. He’s got to be 5 years old now at least. Seem to live much longer than the typical “Mexican turbo”

 

[BriDroid]

Update on my zebra turbo.

Impressive! I have one of those in my nano. It’s grown a ton in the last few months. I’m going to have to rehome him soon. He just eats all the algae!

 

[Salty716]

I have one about the same size. He’s got to be 5 years old now at least. Seem to live much longer than the typical “Mexican turbo”

I have "mexican" turbos and zebras for about the same amount of time but these zebra guys move a lot faster. Both have lived equally long for me so far - but not as impressively big haha

 

[Saltyanimals]

I just checked and you're right. They do grow fast. I gave a couple away leaving myself with one giant zebra that is about 4 inches. I have a 180gallon so good size tank with enough to eat, but it really doesn't venture far from the back wall where it prefers. Fine with me, because it keeps that wall clean where I can't reach. They're suppose to grow as large as a softball, but I don't recall seeing many of that significant size where my son collected them almost 2 years ago. If I did, I would probably told him not to grab them. They were probably an inch at best but that tells me they've 3-4x their size in 2 years in my tank.