Chestnut Turbo Snail
Turbo castanea
A small herbivorous marine turbo snail with a chestnut-brown, bumpy shell. It is highly efficient at cleaning algae from live rock and aquarium glass.
Water Temperature
22 - 28 °C
pH Value
8.1 - 8.4
Water type
Marine
Invertebrate type
Freshwater snail
Adult size
3 cm
Minimum group
>= 1
KH
8 - 12 dKH
Ecological role
Herbivore
Copper sensitivity
High
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic, from North Carolina and Florida, through the Gulf of Mexico, to Brazil. Inhabits shallow rocky reefs and seagrass beds.
Taxonomy: Member of the family Turbinidae. Features a globose, top-shaped shell measuring about 2.5-3.5 cm in size. The shell surface is sculpted with spiral cords of small, rough nodules. Grows to 3 cm.
Social Behavior: Peaceful, primarily nocturnal, and strictly herbivorous. Spends the night grazing over live rock and glass surfaces. Cannot easily right itself if it falls upside down on loose sand.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Shell color varies from chestnut-brown, reddish-brown, to dark brown, often marbled or flecked with white and gray patches. Operculum is greenish-white. No visible sexual dimorphism.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Tank Setup: Suitable for reef aquariums of 10-12 gallons or larger. Requires stable live rock structures with ample surface area for grazing. Avoid open sand expanses without rock support.
Diet and Feeding: Strictly herbivorous. Consumes green hair algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, and film algae. Supplement with dried seaweed (nori sheets) if natural algae is depleted.
Water Quality: Stable reef parameters. Salinity SG 1.021-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, temperature 22-28°C. Highly sensitive to copper treatments and sudden osmotic shocks.
Compatibility and Tankmates: 100% reef-safe. Excellent member of the clean-up crew (CUC). Compatible with peaceful fish and corals. May be targeted by hermits seeking replacement shells.
Aquarium Breeding: Broadcast spawner. Reproduction in home aquariums is extremely rare as pelagic larvae do not survive standard filtration systems.
Risks and Diseases: Starvation in overly clean aquariums. Death from being flipped over on sand; must be manually turned upright. Shell erosion in aquariums with low pH.
Geographic origin and distribution
Widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic, from North Carolina and Florida, through the Gulf of Mexico, to Brazil. Inhabits shallow rocky reefs and seagrass beds.
Origin
Tropical oceans and reefsExtra-Amazon South AmericaCentral America and CaribbeanNorth America
Invertebrate profile
- Diet
- Algae eater
- Voracious herbivore. Eats large amounts of macroalgae.
- Ecological role
- Herbivore
- A heavy grazer that can clear rocks quickly.
- Adult size
- 3 cm
- Jump risk
- Yes
- Does not jump.
- Shock sensitivity
- High
- Sensitive to fluctuating water parameters.
- Calcium and minerals
- High
- Demands stable calcium and alkalinity.
- Molting
- Shell growth
- The Chestnut Turbo snail is a mollusk and does not molt. Its robust, turbinate shell grows continuously along with the snail as it extracts calcium from the water. If you observe a hollow shell in the tank, the snail has likely perished or been predated upon by a crab.
- Reproduction
- Oviparous
- In the ocean, this species is a broadcast spawner, simultaneously releasing gametes into the water column. In a home aquarium, captive breeding is highly improbable. The resulting pelagic larvae inevitably fall victim to mechanical filtration, protein skimmers, or hungry tank mates long before they can settle and mature.
- Compatibility & tankmates
- With caution
- This voracious algae-eater is wonderfully peaceful and completely reef safe, making it a staple clean-up crew member. However, because of its bulky shell and clumsy nature, it acts somewhat like a bulldozer and may accidentally knock over unmounted or loosely secured coral frags as it grazes over the rockwork.
Related species
Recommendations grouped by close relatives, companion choices, and similar care.
