will turbo snails eat coralline algae?

Darren neil · 05/13/2008, 05:43 PM

I have a 55 gal tank with six turbo snail in it and my coralline algae is just disappering off the glass and everything is in check i have no urchins. what could be doing this?

ILoveReefer · 05/13/2008, 06:17 PM

Snails and urchins don't eat coralline algea. Nothing that I know of eats it. Do you add calcium? And by disappear do you mean turn white? I've never seen coralline dissapear on it's own, it sometimes dies and turns white then removed by scraping it off.

seanb1 · 05/13/2008, 06:30 PM

urchins do eat corraline, and i have seen my turbos eat corraline algae.

Moosetache · 05/13/2008, 07:24 PM

Large Mexican Turbo's definitely eat coralline, I have seen it....

idareefer · 05/13/2008, 07:27 PM

sure would be great if they ate it off the front panel down by the sand bed!

tmz · 05/13/2008, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seanndenise1
urchins do eat corraline, and i have seen my turbos eat corraline algae.

Urchins definatley eat it. Turbos may, I'm not sure on that.

uscharalph · 05/13/2008, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ILoveReefer
Snails and urchins don't eat coralline algea. Nothing that I know of eats it. Do you add calcium? And by disappear do you mean turn white? I've never seen coralline dissapear on it's own, it sometimes dies and turns white then removed by scraping it off.

Coraline is all my Blue Tuxedo Urchin eats, but the stuff grows so fast that there is no way he can keep up with it.

ILoveReefer · 05/13/2008, 11:56 PM

In one of my reference books it says snails, urchins, and crabs. But it wasn't specific. I have yet to see any of my snails including Turbos, nerite, astrea, and keyhole limpets. Urchins only long spine and for crabs just blue legs, scarlet, and some kind of hermit crab with green legs. I got a few green legged hermits accidently mixed in with my blue legs that I ordered through marine depot. Haven't yet had anybody touch the coralline algae. Does anyone know anything about green legged hermit crabs. What's there real name? They are close to 1" now. Already slightly larger than my blue legs and scarlet's which are adult sized.

tmz · 05/14/2008, 09:07 PM

According to R. Shimek in his book," Marine Invertebrates" Tubo snails are wholly herbivorous and eat diatoms and microalgae.

reef562 · 09/10/2012, 06:48 PM

yes yes they do i have some algae growing but not an out brake they did a good job but once it ran out they started eating the coral line,

Kabuto · 09/10/2012, 07:47 PM

My turbos never eat any noticeable coralline but they could be. My pencil urchin leaves a trail of clean rock from my coralline covered rocks. He just goes from rock to rock and starts over again. Wished he would eat the coralline on the glass. Always scraping that.

glennvandyke · 09/11/2012, 05:03 PM

my turbos dont eat it either that i no of.. wouldnt know about urchins tho, i dont like those things.

05/13/2008, 05:43 PM	#1
Darren neil Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sylvester GA Posts: 98	will turbo snails eat coralline algae? I have a 55 gal tank with six turbo snail in it and my coralline algae is just disappering off the glass and everything is in check i have no urchins. what could be doing this?

05/13/2008, 06:30 PM	#3
seanb1 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: bettendorf, iowa Posts: 668	urchins do eat corraline, and i have seen my turbos eat corraline algae. __________________ he who knows how, will always work for he who knows why..... David lee Roth. Current Tank Info: 125 reef/29 gal sump/29 gal fuge 3- 175w 20k xm mh/4 65w actinic, octopus nw-200 skimmer3 k-4s mag-12. 2 returns. 2 phosban reactors, GFO/carbon.

05/14/2008, 09:07 PM	#9
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	According to R. Shimek in his book," Marine Invertebrates" Tubo snails are wholly herbivorous and eat diatoms and microalgae. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

05/13/2008, 06:17 PM	#2
ILoveReefer Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cheektowaga Posts: 851	Snails and urchins don't eat coralline algea. Nothing that I know of eats it. Do you add calcium? And by disappear do you mean turn white? I've never seen coralline dissapear on it's own, it sometimes dies and turns white then removed by scraping it off.

05/13/2008, 07:24 PM	#4
Moosetache Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 552	Large Mexican Turbo's definitely eat coralline, I have seen it....

05/13/2008, 07:27 PM	#5
idareefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: idaho falls, idaho Posts: 392	sure would be great if they ate it off the front panel down by the sand bed!

05/13/2008, 11:56 PM	#8
ILoveReefer Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cheektowaga Posts: 851	In one of my reference books it says snails, urchins, and crabs. But it wasn't specific. I have yet to see any of my snails including Turbos, nerite, astrea, and keyhole limpets. Urchins only long spine and for crabs just blue legs, scarlet, and some kind of hermit crab with green legs. I got a few green legged hermits accidently mixed in with my blue legs that I ordered through marine depot. Haven't yet had anybody touch the coralline algae. Does anyone know anything about green legged hermit crabs. What's there real name? They are close to 1" now. Already slightly larger than my blue legs and scarlet's which are adult sized.

09/10/2012, 06:48 PM	#10
reef562 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Longbeach, orange country Posts: 151	yes yes they do i have some algae growing but not an out brake they did a good job but once it ran out they started eating the coral line,

09/10/2012, 07:47 PM	#11
Kabuto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Phoenix AZ Posts: 133	My turbos never eat any noticeable coralline but they could be. My pencil urchin leaves a trail of clean rock from my coralline covered rocks. He just goes from rock to rock and starts over again. Wished he would eat the coralline on the glass. Always scraping that.

09/11/2012, 05:03 PM	#12
glennvandyke Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 65	my turbos dont eat it either that i no of.. wouldnt know about urchins tho, i dont like those things.