Astraea Turbo Snail

Care at a glance

Overview

A peaceful, reef-safe herbivore that spends its time cleaning rock and glass and never bothers corals or other livestock. Its main weakness is that it struggles to flip itself back over once it lands on its back, so it can starve on the sand bed if not helped. Keep an eye on upside-down snails and turn them over. Stock about one per 8 to 12 litres.

In the wild

The Astraea turbo comes from Caribbean and Western Atlantic reefs, where it grazes rock surfaces for hair algae, film algae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms. It wants a well-established tank with lots of live rock to graze and stable parameters. It is sensitive to high nitrate and copper, and because it does not handle sudden parameter swings, a long drip acclimation is important.

Good to know

Astraea tecta (also sold as Lithopoma tectum) has a pyramid-shaped, olive-green shell that often carries pointed projections, giving some individuals a star-like or conehead outline. It is one of the most efficient hair-algae grazers in the hobby, and some aquarists report it consuming the whole algae structure rather than just cropping the tips.

Did you know

It cannot easily right itself when knocked onto its back, so it often ends up stranded upside down on the sand and needs a quick flip from the aquarist to survive.

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• 

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