[My2heartboys]

I have observed what looks like my Queen Conch eating sand. I didn't think that it was supposed to do this (then again, I could be wrong). If this is one of the things that it is supposed to do--then I may reconsider and get 4-5 more instead of getting a black cucumber (cucumbers make me extremely nervous--I know that they are not all alike, but...).

Anne

[BubbaWPB]

My queen conchs usually graze the sand bed.... I'm not sure if they swallow the sand or just clean the algae off the grains.... Since all of them do it, I'm assuming that they are supposed to do it. I also hear the fighting conchs are good too (only mature males fight... and only during mating season).

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by BubbaWPB

My queen conchs usually graze the sand bed.... I'm not sure if they swallow the sand or just clean the algae off the grains.... Since all of them do it, I'm assuming that they are supposed to do it. I also hear the fighting conchs are good too (only mature males fight... and only during mating season).

Thank you.

Anne

[Ninong]

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) feed on epiphytic algae and diatoms on the blades of seagrass and sand grains. They require a very large amount of open sandbed in an aquarium to survive long-term. Their maximum size is 12" but they usually don't get much larger than 8" in captivity, assuming they live that long. As they get larger, they will become more of a problem in an aquarium without a really large expanse of open sandbed space.

A better choice for most home aquaria would be the fighting conch (Strombus alatus). These can achieve a maximum length of 4"-5" in the wild but rarely exceed 3"-3.5" in captivity. Unfortunately, they too require a large amount of open sandbed to thrive. The longest I have been able to keep a S. alatus alive in my 120-gal tank is about 20 months. They simply starve to death because of a lack of sufficient diatoms and epiphytic algae to feed on.

I wouldn't recommend a queen conch for anything less than a 300-gal tank and I doubt that a fighting conch can survive long-term in anything less than a 180-gal tank. I guess a lot depends on just how "dirty" the sandbed is.

[BubbaWPB]

Small ones don't survive long term in a tank with nasty ole hermit crabs either.... that little #$%^@&* is still wearing her shell down in my refugium!

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) feed on epiphytic algae and diatoms on the blades of seagrass and sand grains. They require a very large amount of open sandbed in an aquarium to survive long-term. Their maximum size is 12" but they usually don't get much larger than 8" in captivity, assuming they live that long. As they get larger, they will become more of a problem in an aquarium without a really large expanse of open sandbed space.

A better choice for most home aquaria would be the fighting conch (Strombus alatus). These can achieve a maximum length of 4"-5" in the wild but rarely exceed 3"-3.5" in captivity. Unfortunately, they too require a large amount of open sandbed to thrive. The longest I have been able to keep a S. alatus alive in my 120-gal tank is about 20 months. They simply starve to death because of a lack of sufficient diatoms and epiphytic algae to feed on.

I wouldn't recommend a queen conch for anything less than a 300-gal tank and I doubt that a fighting conch can survive long-term in anything less than a 180-gal tank. I guess a lot depends on just how "dirty" the sandbed is.

Thanks for the info. Right now I do not have any grass growing in my sandbed--but do have plenty of red slime (recently changed tanks to new size). My sandbed does get to be pretty dirty at times and she seems to have not had a problem finding food. I also might see if I can get her to take some algae disks/flakes.

Anne