Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Eastern Pacific Ocean: Baja California/Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California, south to Peru and the Galapagos Islands.
Size: 3.5 inches (8.5 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow intertidal areas where algae and diatom covered rock and ruble accumulates.
General Husbandry: Common in the home aquarium trade.
Usually a greenish-brown with brown and white chevron pattern along the spiral cords and an extremely good scavenger of unwanted green or brown algae, yet mostly nocturnal feeders, but will scavenge for food during daylight hours when very hungry.
Does not harm any creatures they travel over or touch, making them one of the more desired snail species in hobbyist aquariums. Most sold in the trade are about 1 - 2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm), yet keep in mind the larger they are the more capable they are of knocking over/dislodging small frags or other small invertebrates that are not secure in the aquarium.
Can rid the aquarium quite fast of unwanted algae growths, yet should their diet become inadequate, they become weak and fall off rocks and aquarium side panels. It's then time to provide them some vegetable-based tablet foods/dried seaweed/Nori or remove them before they die, as they can quickly pollute the aquarium water.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropods
Order: Archaeogastropoda
Family: Turbinidae
Genus: Turbo
FYI: Most in the trade come from the Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California.
Sensitive to salinity changes as they are very shallow intertidal water creatures, so initially acclimate as noted below.
Generally not long-lived in the aquarium.
Recommend having at least one per ten gallons.
Experience Level: Beginner
Diet: Herbivore
Temperament: Peaceful
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Acclimation Time: Sensitive to specific gravity/salinity changes, therefore be sure to adjust the bag's water to that of the aquarium in which it will be placed by slowly adding small amounts of aquarium water to the bag every few minutes. In most cases, this process should take at least 15 minutes.
Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately hardy
Temperature Range: 68 - 79°F (20 - 26°C)
Minimum Tank Size: Perfect for Nano tanks and/or larger aquaria
Water Movement: WM 1 - 2
Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.025
pH: 8.0 - 8.4
