Fighting Conch

[Cap'n]

My fighting conch is in the process of eating one of my snails. Has anyone experienced or heard of this behaviour? I was under the impression they were harmless detrivores!

[Azilla]

I know if the snail is dead or dieing then they will eat them. Same as crabs and nassarus snails.

[Quinn]

My understanding based on a fair amount of reading is that Strombus alatus is strictly a herbivore, although some commercial sites list it as an omnivore. The real problem here is that you may have been sold another type of gastropod as S. alatus, a common practice. Photos of S. alatus at http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_1329.html, a list of conch species at http://www.gastropods.com/Taxon_pages/Group_Conch.html. It is also important to note that many whelks resemble conchs, and whelks are often predacious omnivores. Often, collectors and wholesalers don't take the time to identify animals they collect/receive, and ship them to retailers under a presumed name. One needs to be vigilant when purchasing animals prone to this practice, such as conchs.

Also see:
http://www.listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=conch-l
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/

[Scavenger]

Teevee had the same thoughts as me. Maybe you have a welk. Here's a good article on conches and welks.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.htm

[vjvl51]

From this article - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=352087 Dr. Ron recommends 20 square feet of sand to graze on

"Yes, they look like prime mature specimens of Strombus alatus, the Florida Fighting Conch. These guys need a lot of sand surface with algae on it, to graze on. Figure about 20 square feet each. They may take algal wafers or nori as food, but by and large they graze on diatoms on/in the sand.

They will also need a sand bed about 4 to 6 inches deep, simply to bury into."

Just some info that surprised me about these snails since so many reefers seem to have them.

Vickie

[Quinn]

I think that's a best case scenario. Shimek may be advising a larger than adequate amount of surface area, knowing reefers will go lower. Better that than having people putting them into 33gal systems.

And of course, there's a history between Shimek and the reef forums...

I wonder who here has had their conch the longest? It would be nice to know how much sand bed they have.

[Cap'n]

Looks like I have a whelk. That sucks! I was enjoying watching this guy cruise through the sand, bury hinself then reappear days later on the glass somewhere. I don't want him to eat all my snails though...

One of the sites I just checked out was a chronicle of a guy hunting down the numerous whelks in his large system. Any suggestions?

[Quinn]

:confused: Pull the whelk out, return it to the store you bought it at, give them a piece of your mind, and stick with J&L or other reputable suppliers (assuming you bought it in Calgary, which would be another stroke against our local stores).

[Cap'n]

That's a damn fine idea!

I've had it for a long time too, probably around 6 months, never noticed this happen before. I wonder how many of my snails he got to?