Fighting conch?

[dwculp]

I have a 40 gallon breeder (36 X 12) and was thinking of picking up two fighting conchs tomorrow. I have been doing a lot of reading and research but I am a bit worried. I have a very active sand bed with about a zillion (I counted each one) dime sized or smaller stars in the sand bed along with a good population of brittle stars.

Would the fighting conch do any damage to those?

 

[Sk8r]

Not likely. They're detritus eaters. Those little stars are probably asterinas, which won't get any larger---do they have one or two notably shorter legs? They mostly eat coralline.

 

[dwculp]

Not asterinas, I got them from Indo Pacific Sea Farms, also detritus eaters.

 

[drummereef]

The fighting conch is a great part of my cleanup crew. I would just get one though. You are better off with a variety of cleaners. Diversity is key. Think about getting some nassarius, ceriths and the fighting conch for your sandbed.

 

[dwculp]

Actually, I have about 5 nassarius and some ceriths in there already. I was debating between one or two fighting conchs. I may just go for one.

 

[korbynlehr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8714215#post8714215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Not likely. They're detritus eaters. Those little stars are probably asterinas, which won't get any larger---do they have one or two notably shorter legs? They mostly eat coralline.

Are you saying these are bad for the reef tank?

 

[greenbean36191]

I would go with only one. A 40 is on the lower end of the acceptable range to keep one adult.

 

[dwculp]

Then one it is!