are queen conchs reef safe?

[zombiereef]

i found some small (1") conchs at the lfs the other day and was wondering how well they would get along in a reef setup? i have the usual cleanup crew now (astreas and blue leg hermits) and think a little more diversity would be cool.
any thoughts? i know they get fairly large (12" or better) and would sell it off way before it outgrew my setup.

 

[greenbean36191]

They are reef safe, but that doesn't mean they are appropriate for reefs. They need a lot of space to graze, even when they are small. The recommended amount is about 1-2 square feet of bare sand per inch. In a 20L, even if there was no rock in the tank there would barely be enough to keep this guy at an inch long. There are very few tanks that would be sufficient for a 12'' adult, so planning on selling them as they grow isn't a very responsible thing to do IMO.

 

[zombiereef]

that is what i needed to know. also what i figured. no conch for me!! like you said, 20L doesnt leave much room at all.

i bought some live rock from a guy months ago and he had a few 4" conchs in his tank. they were pretty cool. always moving around and grazing. they have large eyes that look strange on a "snail".