shabreeson
New member
how many should I have in my 55?
fighting conks!
- Thread starter shabreeson
- Start date
T Man
~PPPPPPP~
fighting conch
fighting conch
I would not put any more than one if any in a tank that size. Do your research before buying a conch, I have one in my 210 gallon but it has killed every other snail on my crew. Conchs require a deep sandbed and they will get huge if you are able to keep them alive. T
fighting conch
I would not put any more than one if any in a tank that size. Do your research before buying a conch, I have one in my 210 gallon but it has killed every other snail on my crew. Conchs require a deep sandbed and they will get huge if you are able to keep them alive. T
shabreeson
New member
I heard that they wouldn't grow nearly as large as a queen conch, how large would it grow? I don't have any snails but am planning on getting either marble sea star or a lettice sea slug for algae control. I asked about them on here before and everyone liked them.
my sand bed is about 3 inch in the lower areas and 5-6 in the largest. will they kill my worms?
my sand bed is about 3 inch in the lower areas and 5-6 in the largest. will they kill my worms?
pagojoe
Team RC
Fighting conchs only average about 3 to 4 inches as adults, and a 5-incher is a really large one. If you have a comparatively shallow tank with a lot of sand area, a couple of them would probably be fine. They are algae eaters, they don't kill other snails. If T man has a killer conch in his tank, it's not a real conch. It's most likely a "Crown Conch," which is a species of Melongena, and not a conch at all.
These are the ones you want:
http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_214.html
http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_1329.html
These are the ones you DON'T want:
http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1010.html
Cheers,
Don
These are the ones you want:
http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_214.html
http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_1329.html
These are the ones you DON'T want:
http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_1010.html
Cheers,
Don
shabreeson
New member
all very good info, my tank is however not a very shalow tank, it is 21 high, 12 thick and 48 long. so I will probably go for one. any advice in the care of the fighting conch?
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
I never had good luck keeping conchs for some reason.
Snowboarda42
New member
Hey Don,
What kind is this one?
I've had it for about 6 months and its been great. I'd say its ~2.5"
BTW to the original poster, I think I've heard you want a ratio of one small conch (3" or less) to every 1 sq/ft of sand bed. So most likely just one will be fine for your tank.
What kind is this one?
I've had it for about 6 months and its been great. I'd say its ~2.5"
BTW to the original poster, I think I've heard you want a ratio of one small conch (3" or less) to every 1 sq/ft of sand bed. So most likely just one will be fine for your tank.
tkeracer619
New member
I have 3 and they are awesome. Keep the sandbed clean and can leap an inch in a single bound. :lol: my favorite part is their eyes, if you are around the tank, they are watching.
discotu
Discotu
I have 2 of the ones that snowboarda42 has above. They've been with me for at least two years now in my 225g with about 3 inches of sand.
snowboardera42, do you have a "DSB"? Do your snails bury themselves? Mine have polished shells since they primarly stay buried and only come out after the lights are out.
snowboardera42, do you have a "DSB"? Do your snails bury themselves? Mine have polished shells since they primarly stay buried and only come out after the lights are out.
constantly cleaning the sand and pretty interesting to watch. I got a couple like Don posted also and they didn't fare as well.
pagojoe
Team RC
Hey Snowboarda,
Your conch is Strombus (Conomurex) luhuanus, the so-called Strawberry Conch or Red-Mouth Conch. They don't get quite as big as the fighting conchs, but almost. They'll eat both micro- and macroalgae. My buddy Bill Gilly at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station kept a bunch of them in his tanks, and you could actually see them tugging on the clumps of macroalgae as they were eating it. They're pretty hard to kill. I brought about 50 of them back from Samoa in a Thermos, wrapped in wet cloth. They all survived. They can stand pretty nasty tank conditions, too.
Cheers,
Don
Your conch is Strombus (Conomurex) luhuanus, the so-called Strawberry Conch or Red-Mouth Conch. They don't get quite as big as the fighting conchs, but almost. They'll eat both micro- and macroalgae. My buddy Bill Gilly at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station kept a bunch of them in his tanks, and you could actually see them tugging on the clumps of macroalgae as they were eating it. They're pretty hard to kill. I brought about 50 of them back from Samoa in a Thermos, wrapped in wet cloth. They all survived. They can stand pretty nasty tank conditions, too.
Cheers,
Don
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