Turbo problems

T

technofan

AC Members
Sep 17, 2006
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Hi everyone,

Recently I lost several Zebra and Mexican Turbos over a 2 week period (about 6)! My water has been tested and all levels are good. I have lots of hair algae that these guys are supposed to enjoy and I have other smaller Turbos in the tank that I have had much longer and they are doing fine. Is there anything I should be wary of? At the moment I just have live rock and a few shrimp a hermit crab and a timid little green crab. Could something in the water be getting at these guys? Perhaps parasites of somekind or disease, maybe even the hair algae itself?

Any help gratefully received:)

Pete.
 
Germanman said:
what are your water parameters?
also where they on their back when found dead?
Click to expand...


The water was tested as being spot on a few weeks ago and yes they literally turned themselves over despite being put back the right way round they would flip themselves on the base of the tank?

Kindest Regards,

Pete:hi:
 
If you put them on the sand they're not very good at staying upright, they don't seem to get a good grip on sand (I always place mine on the rocks to ensure they get a good grip). Unfortunately once they're on their backs the majority can't get themselves upright again and they die.
 
What's your tank's water temp? I've read that some turbos don't tolerate warmer tanks very well and will die off at warmer temps. I had a large number of turbos die off in a short period of time last summer when our tank was consistently as warm as 84 - 85F. I couldn't figure out what happened, as there wasn't any apparent reason, and eventually came across that information somewhere online.

Otherwise, it's better to place snails on the glass or rock if you need to help them right themselves. For many snails, being on the sand is like us trying to walk on marbles.
 
I think zebra snails are overall sensitive. Out of the 5 I took home, two were dead on the spot and the one other was sick for about 3 days before he kicked the can. On the other hand, the two that survived are very vigorous. My mexicans turbos seem fine and I've had no problems there.
 
technofan said:
The water was tested as being spot on a few weeks ago and yes they literally turned themselves over despite being put back the right way round they would flip themselves on the base of the tank?

Kindest Regards,

Pete:hi:
Click to expand...
best to put them on a rock when they turn over....also if they parameters were spot on last wee but animals have died it may not be good now....so give a check to make sure.
 
Thanks everybody. My water is at 78 degrees and you are right about the snails, as in the good ones are very vigorous and rush around all over the place (take 'rush' with a pinch of salt). However, once they get sick they are done for and last only a few days. The strange thing is that I don't have sand yet and only have a glass bottom (not me...the tank). But one Zebra would make huge efforts to deliberately tip itself up? The rest of my snail crew is doing very well but I must have lost 6 by now. Perhaps I should stick to more hardy critters that scoff hair algae??

Pete:hi:
 
The only other thing I can think of at the moment is possibly the specific gravity. What level is yours?
 
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