Astrea and turbo snails

[You know that is a good question. Some people sell the Astrea snails as the Turbo snail. But the snail that I think of that the Mexican Turbo snail is not an Astrea. It is a lot bigger anf the shell looks completely different. The store in Plano, Aquatic Designs is the place I have gotten real Mexican Turbo snails. And when you get them and see them bulldozing your sps frags down or anything else that gets in there way, you will know you have them. I actually saw one there that was as big as a baseball.]
 
[Danged right! They are the ants of the crab world, bulldozing frags far, far larger than they are. Lots of incentive to get out the reef glue and do it right...]
 
[Yep, they ARE two different things, and some of the internet companies often get them confused. But if you look in the books, turbos and astreas are always different - one shell spirals horizontal, and the other is vertical. TurbO and turBAN often get confused.]
 
[As others here have stated...two different animals.

The "mexican turbo" is from the cold water coast of Mexico. The scientifc name is Turbo (Taeniaturbo) fluctuosus. They are found in much cooler waters than we typically keep in our tanks. That said, I've got a couple that have been with me for years. As noted, they get large, and have a habit of dislodging your prize frag usually just after you attach it.

Common Astreas, while technically belonging to the same "super family"(Trochacea) as "Mexican Turbos", are much smaller, and found in more temperate waters. I know from diving in the carribean, that often you find these huddled in masses on the tops of rocks in shallow water. They make good reef inhabitants, but have the annoying limitation of not being able to flip themselves over should they fall and land on their back. On the plus side, this has provided my hermits with a lot of new shells to choose from...

Personally, I favor the trochus species, Trochus intextus. They are very hardy, ime, eat more than an Astrea, remain a decent size, and are able to flip themselves back over. You can find them at places like IPSF.com. IMO, they are really worth a look if you are shopping for snails.]
 
[Duane is correct, but to add on to his post.

There are several different kinds of Astrea.

The Turbo Astrea is larger version of the astrea snail. This will get around 1-1.5 inches in diameter.

The Golden Astrea is normal size of the astrea and their shells are usually golden color until coralin gets on it. These snails only get around .5-.75 inches in diameter.

I can go on about snails. I did alot of research on these guys about a year ago to see what was the best for the money. So far, I agree with Duane about the Trocus. But you have to find them and they are usually very expensive. So far, I've been staying with the turbo astrea since they get at big as the trocus and last a long time (up to 2 years or more in my tank). With them being on my fiji rock I don't have many deaths. You can look in my 165 tank and see the ones I have. They are pretty big.

I'm not trying to upsale my snails. I'm just stating my experience.

Have a good one guys and gals.

James]
 
[Yep, absolutely. There are also dozens in the Trochus family. When I say "common Astrea" I was just generalizing to the one seen most often in LFS around town. I've seldom seen any of the other species of Astrea available locally. I've seen, but not ever kept the golden Astrea. Maybe I should give a few a shot. Here's the entire Astraeinae Family....


ASTRAEINAE

Angaria delphinula Angaria delphinus

Angaria delphinus melanacantha

Angaria delphinus tyria Angaria distorta Angaria formosa

Angaria melanacantha Angaria neglecta Angaria sphaerula

Angaria tyria Angaria vicdani Astraea phoebia

Astraea tecta Astraea Astraea buschii

Astraea caelata Astraea calcar Astraea gibberosa

Astraea haematraga Astraea heliotropium Astraea japonica

Astraea kesteveni Astraea modesta Astraea olivacea

Astraea pileola Astraea rhodostoma Astraea rotularia

Astraea rugosa Astraea semicostata Astraea stellare

Astraea tuber Astraea tuberosa Astraea turbanica

Astraea undosa Astraea unguis Bolma asteriola

Bolma aureola Bolma bartschi Bolma girgyllus

Bolma guttata Bolma jacquelineae Bolma modesta

Bolma tayloriana Pseudastralium abyssorum

Pseudastralium henicus gloriosum

Pseudastralium persica]
 
[James,

I do have question though. What is the scientific name of the "Turbo Astrea"? While related(both in the Trochacea super family/genera), Turbo and Astrea(techinically Astrae) are two different families... "Turbinidae" and "Astrae". I've not ever really seen a "Turbo Astrea" cataloged anywhere. Any input?]
 
[I will let you know from my own experience the one snail that I have bought that always died right away were those golden astreas. I have tried them twice and both times a dozen of those lived a few weeks, maybe six and then they were all gone. Maybe some one else has had better luck.]
 
[My problem is when your in the store they say it's a Turbo. How do you know if it's mexican does it speak spanish? :laugh long:


I crack me up!!!!!]
 
[You can tell it is a Mexican Turbo by it moving really, really, really fast and saying, "Arriba, Arriba, Arriba". :wwww:]
 
[I learned when we did the reetopia group buy that there are a number of online sites that sell astrea snails as turbo snails but I beleive that they always say astrea in their description. If they do not say astrea they are usually the actual turbos.]
 
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