Cowrie ID is this reefsafe ?

[Snowsurfer]

I was sold this a few months back and have recently found damage starting to occur to a few corals i had a brain start to receed and found my cowrie every night on it. I dont know if he was eatting it or cleaning up dying tissue.

He was also been spotted crawling over a few sps.

 

[pagojoe]

Well, that's Cypraea (or Mauritia) arabica, and it's a little bit more generalized feeder than some of the other cowries. I seriously doubt that he's grazing on his preferred food if he's eating your brain coral or your SPS. He prefers algae and little microorganisms from the bottoms of your rocks, but he may be starving, and "tasting" of whatever he can reach. A friend of mine kept one in an aquarium for over 20 years, feeding it wilted lettuce and clams on the halfshell. You may need to feed it, rather than depending on your tank to support it. I suspect it will stop tasting of things if you do this.

Cheers,



Don

 

[Snowsurfer]

If your friend fed it clams, do you think it would kill and eat clams ? as i have clams in my tank !!!

 

[pagojoe]

Nah, it doesn't have the equipment to kill clams. Its teeth are ribbons of little raspers, that scrape algae and microscopic animals off your rocks and glass. It can "rasp" at the meat of a dead clam, or a piece of lettuce, but it won't harm your living clams.



Don

 

[Snowsurfer]

Thanks for the info