TankBud

Blue turbo snail

Celetaia persculpta

Also known as Sulawesi blue turbo snail, Sculptured turbo snail

FreshwaterSnail

Blue turbo snail (Celetaia persculpta)
Maberjay · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
79–86°F
26–30°C
pH
7.5–8.5
Adult size
2.8 in
7 cm
Minimum tank
11 gal
40 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Livebearer · Hard
Rarity
Rare
Family
Viviparidae
Origin
Lake Poso, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Overview

The blue turbo snail is a peaceful, slow-moving grazer, best suited to a warm, hard-water tank set up for Sulawesi species. It is a step up from the easiest snails.

Did you know

The blue turbo snail is found nowhere on Earth but a single ancient lake. It is part of a fauna that evolved in isolation and produced many species that live in just one body of water.

Caring for the blue turbo snail

A single blue turbo snail is fine in a tank of at least 11 gal (40 L). Give it rock and wood to graze over, plenty of mature growth and good filtration.

Keep the water hard and alkaline, at 79 to 86°F (26 to 30°C) and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Keep calcium up for shell health. It is sensitive to poor water quality, so hold conditions stable.

It spends its time working over rock, wood and substrate, rasping algae, biofilm and detritus. Offer sinking vegetable foods on top of the algae and biofilm it finds.

It is not a social animal and does not need a group, and one or a few will live quietly among peaceful tank mates. It pairs naturally with the shrimp and snails of the same Sulawesi lakes rather than boisterous fish.

The blue turbo snail is a live-bearer that gives birth to fully formed young. It reproduces only slowly, so building a colony is hard.

Good to know

Celetaia persculpta is the only species in its genus. It is a river snail in the family Viviparidae, not one of the trumpet-shelled Pachychilidae it is often grouped with. Its name persculpta means thoroughly carved, for the heavy grooving on the whorls of its thick, deeply sculptured, conical shell.

In the wild

The blue turbo snail comes from Lake Poso, one of Sulawesi's ancient lakes in Indonesia. There it grazes hard substrates in warm, alkaline, mineral-rich water.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The blue turbo snail is a peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a blue turbo snail need?

A blue turbo snail needs at least 11 gal (40 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a blue turbo snail need?

A blue turbo snail is comfortable at 79–86°F (26–30°C) with a pH of 7.5–8.5.

What does a blue turbo snail eat?

A blue turbo snail rasps algae, biofilm and detritus from rock, wood and substrate. Offer it sinking vegetable foods as well.

How big does a blue turbo snail get?

An adult blue turbo snail reaches about 2.8 in (7 cm).

How does a blue turbo snail breed?

The blue turbo snail is a live-bearer that gives birth to fully formed young. It reproduces only slowly, so building a colony is hard.

Related species