Fighting Conch ?

[bobpiker]

Anyone have these? I am planning on putting 4 of these anywhere from 1 to 2 inches in size into a 55 long to stir up and keep the sand cleaner.

Do they do a good job. They cost so much more than standard snails so there must be a good reason, right? From what I've read they do a great job but I can't be sure if 4 will be enough.

Thanks,
Bob

[32mm32]

I have 1 in my 29 bio cube, it does a descent job cleaning the bottom half of the live rocks.

[32mm32]

Forgot to also say if you are looking to keep the sand clean, maybe check out a cucumber, that is what i keep to clean my sand.

[Ticul]

I have two in a 40 and they are always munching on something.

[mayjong]

love mine, i gotta get another one...

[bobpiker]

Thanks everyone for your input. I've considered a cucumber, tiger or black, but I'm concerned about toxins. I may consider one, though, if my four fighting conch aren't coming through as much as I hope.

Regards,
Bob

[FiReBReTHa]

joining thread to hear how it goes. I am thinking nassarius zombie snails

[bobpiker]

I've got 4 coming from LiveAquaria today or Monday. I'll let you know if they make a noticeable difference.

Bob

[johnnyroastbeef]

I think they do a great job but they dont cover much territory. I have a few in my 300, and they may not move from a dinner-plate sized area for a week or more. On top of that, they tend to just go to sleep for days and days without moving at all. I know they are fine, because when I disturbed their sleep, they went right back to work, and its not uncommon for them to sleep for a week +.

[bobpiker]

Well, I got my 4, 1.5 inch fighting conches. They wander all over the place and occasionally disappear mostly into my sand but never seem to stay below sand for too long. I was surprised to see them up on the glass a couple of inches up once in a while these past few days. They seem to never stop for very long so far. I'm hoping they will do a good job but just to be sure I've got my sand as clean as possible, I just picked up a 5" black cucumber today. I'm told he'll clean the sand better than anything. My sand isn't bad but I do clean it occasionally to brighten it up a bit. I'm hoping the cuc will save a lot of time there.

Bob

[FiReBReTHa]

bump, hows it going? now my sandbed is to the point I wanna fix it.

[chimmike]

I've had these guys before. Loved 'em. They're cool to watch and very effective.

[C0rp]

Four seems like way too many for a 55. I have one in my 75 and he does a fine job on the sand bed by his lonesome. If I had 3 more I would be concerned they wouldn't have enough to eat.

[bobpiker]

I got the four but one ended up being pulled in my a maxi-mini anemone...not the whole thing but enough that the anemone was able to eat it.

The 3 remaining have been doing a fine job. There must be enough to eat because it's been a couple of months now an I still see 'em all around. They come out readily at night and even climb up the glass a few inches. They are very active for snails.

I ended up adding a black cucumber, too, so my sand looks as good as I had hoped. High props for the cuc in my opinion.

Regards,
Bob

[demonnite57]

I love watching my 2 Fighting Conchs move around the sand and search for food. Very interesting to watch

[Todd100]

Is the Fighting Conch's shell too heavy for them to clean algae all the way up the glass?

[bobpiker]

I've seen 'em climbing up the glass nearly to the top when lights are out but they don't accomplish much there...rather interesting to watch when they are climbing, though. They turn over the top layer of the sand as they "plow" through it slowly.

Bob

[scapes]

Originally Posted by Todd100

Is the Fighting Conch's shell too heavy for them to clean algae all the way up the glass?

No

[TheFisheye]

just got a fighting conch myself...do they have like gills on the top of their shell...mine has a cone shaped part on the top of it's shell with a "feather duster-like" part that keeps shooting in and out...like it's breathing....did i get a hitchhiker, or is this part of the conch?

[pagojoe]

It's probably an attached barnacle.



Don

[Bukednaked]

Hey guys i just got a tiger conch that's doing great! Iwanted to keep his beautiful shelll the same but coralline algae is starting to take over. What is the best method of scraping it off without damaging my amigo?

[pagojoe]

You'll get a hundred opinions, but a thin-bladed pocket knife works fine.

[jd371]

Originally Posted by johnnyroastbeef

I think they do a great job but they dont cover much territory. I have a few in my 300, and they may not move from a dinner-plate sized area for a week or more. On top of that, they tend to just go to sleep for days and days without moving at all. I know they are fine, because when I disturbed their sleep, they went right back to work, and its not uncommon for them to sleep for a week +.

Yeah, mine has been MIA now for over a month. He used to be out all the time, now I don't see him at all.