Turbo Snails are marine snails that are normally kept in both salt water and fresh water too. They make good tank mates for so many aquatic animals and they could clean the aquarium by eating all the algae in it.
One of the problems of keeping these types of snails is, that they have a high fatality rate in captivity due to some reasons, which we will explain later.
The most popular complaint from people who keep these snails is, that they don’t move, especially when they are gotten newly.
Related: Can Turbo Snails move on sand?
In this article, you will learn the possible reasons why your Turbo Snail is not moving.
Why is my Turbo Snail not moving? Turbo Snails might refuse to move in a tank because they are not properly acclimated or the environment is not favorable to them.
This is one of the most sensitive snails ever. They are so sensitive that they could be easily affected by any slightest change in their environment.
Although Turbo Snails, just like other types of Snails are nocturnal and are not normally active during the day or with bright light, sometimes they will not move at all, even at the night, and you might begin to wonder if they are dead or sleeping.
Related: 9 possible reasons why your Crayfish could stop moving
There are many factors that may stop your Turbo Snails from being active or not even moving nor showing signs of being alive, they are:
1. When they are not acclimated: This happens when you got them new and is simply a way of making them feel relaxed and get used to their new home and temperature etc.
To properly acclimate snails, bring them home in a sealed plastic bag full of the water they are already acclimated to. Add this bag to your tank and leave for 30 minutes before removing (disposing) and replacing some of the water with your tank’s water. Repeat this before transferring to your tank.
When this is not properly done or not done at all, it could lead to so many problems for your snails, and that is the main reason many Turbo Snails don’t do well in a new tanks and might stop moving and eating which will eventually kill them.
Acclimation of newly bought Turbo snails is very important, as it could prevent many problems including their inability to move, so don’t joke with it.
2. Wrong Temperature: Temperature is another factor that will make your Turbo snails stay locked inside this shell and locked their trap door.
Related: Why is my Royal Gramma not moving?
There are many types of snails, some could tolerate cold temperatures very well, and some are tropical and don’t do very well in cold temperatures.
Turbo Snails fall into the category of tropical snails, so they don’t tolerate much cold, and if they are exposed to cold, they will have no option but to stay locked in their shell, thereby will stop moving and becoming very inactive.
Being tropical Snails, their ideal temperature is 72-80°F.
So for them to be healthy and very active, then you should make sure they are always kept at their ideal temperature. So get a heater for them in order to maintain their normal temperature.
3. Wrong Water Parameters: Every aquatic animal has their specific type of water requirements they need such as pH level, water hardness, etc.
The ideal water parameters for this type of snail are pH 8.0-8.4. water hardness 8-9.5 days.
Wrong water parameters could easily affect them hence they are very sensitive to even some minor changes in their environment.
So make sure you keep them in their ideal type of water.
4. They are nocturnal animals and don’t move in the daytime or with bright light.
Apart from Turbo Snails, all Snails, in general, are nocturnal and don’t normally move about in the daytime, unless at night or in dark, or in a dim environment.
You might think that your snail is not moving. You haven’t seen it do so because you always check at it in the daytime or you have a bright light in your aquarium or in your room which they don’t like.
Being nocturnal, they don’t like light, so get a dim light for them and keep their tank away from sunlight, unless you want to breed algae for them to eat which is normal.
5. There may be some harmful chemicals in their water.
Being very sensitive, they could detect something in their tank which might not be very healthy for them, and they may decide to lock themselves up in their shells.
We all know that some chemicals such as chlorine, ammonia, nitrate, etc form in an aquarium as a result of dirty water and many other things.
When they detect any, not these harmful chemicals, they will have no other option than to protect themselves by locking their trap doors and staying inactive in their shells.
6. Your Turbo snail may stop moving because it is sleeping.
Snails could sometimes go to sleep, and they normally sleep for a long time like a day or 2 or even 3 depending on the environment they are in.
It is very normal to see them do so from time to time, so if yours become inactive and can’t seem to move for hours or days, then there is every chance that it is fast asleep.
Sometimes you might think they are dead, but the only way to find out if they are dead is to pick them up and smell them through their trap door, if they don’t produce a foul odor, then they are okay and probably asleep.
7. Your Turbo Snail might be dead, that’s why it’s not moving.
This is the hardest thing every pet keeper and pet lover is afraid to hear.
Well, if your snail is not moving for any of the reasons above, then it is probably dead.
All you have to do is to pick it up, smell it from its trapdoor and if the odor is not nice, then it is dead!.
Just put it away or keep the empty shell for your Hermit Crabs if you have any because they will need it.
Do Turbo Snails Go Dormant?
Yes, Turbo Snails will go dormant when they sleep and during the daytime because they are nocturnal animals.
As I mentioned above, all snails will naturally go dormant in the daytime because they don’t move about in a bright environment, but only in darkness.
So Turbo Snails will sometimes go dormant for these reasons.
How Active Are Turbo Snails?
Turbo snails are very active at night, especially in their natural habitat which is in the wild. They spend most of their time looking for foods to eat, and they specialize more in algae.
The ability of Turbo Snails to go about at night in their tank cleaning any algae they could come across proves that they are very active.
Do Turbo Snails Need Acclimation?
Yes, for them to get familiar with their new tank and survive in it, they need to be acclimated.
One of the most important things they need as new snails from a pet shop is acclimation. This can go a long way to prevent certain problems which might come as a result of a change in environment and their wide sensitivity.
So to save your Turbo Snails, the first thing you must do after getting them newly is to acclimate them.
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