Tiger cowrie
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aquaknight
Active Member
I have a Bahamian Cowrie in my 125. Coral safe as far as I can tell.
Very few things would likely consume a whole mushroom. My Blueface Angel loves to pick at my shrooms when he's hungry, but doesn't come close to eating them.
I'm guessing, the cowrie either just knocked the shroom off, or re-directed the flow, so that it caught the mushroom and eventually caused the shroom to loose grip and come off.
Very few things would likely consume a whole mushroom. My Blueface Angel loves to pick at my shrooms when he's hungry, but doesn't come close to eating them.
I'm guessing, the cowrie either just knocked the shroom off, or re-directed the flow, so that it caught the mushroom and eventually caused the shroom to loose grip and come off.
aquaknight
Active Member
Cowries, as a whole, are herbivores that will be found combing the sandy bottoms of their natural habitat for algae and other forms of vegetable matter. They will perform the same function in a captive environment such as a reef aquarium for the most part though care must be taken as they are not considered to be 100% reef safe, but then again, what really is? Most of these snails are not recommended as an aquarium resident due to their carnivorous nature. They will feed upon sponge, corals, anemones such as Discosoma and Tunicates(ascidians). Sometimes these cowries will be mislabeled as to be considered one of the "reef safe" species of cowrie when, in essence, they should not be added as this particular cowrie is a carnivore, grows large and cumbersome and is not the species of cowrie that they say it is! For those of you with hopes of purchasing and maintaining one of the better suited cowries for the aquarium trade, such as the Chestnut(Cypraea spadicea), Gold Ringed(Cypraea annulus) and Snakehead(Cypraea caputserpentis), the addition of algal matter such as romaine lettuce, seaweed, formula two flake food, pellet style vegetable food, and spirulina are accepted and beneficial to the overall health and success of these snails. They will continuously graze on both macro and micro algae in your tank as well as feed on diatoms, which is an added bonus with the purchase of one of these cowries. Having a constant supply of vegetable matter in your tank housing one of these snails will go along way in the long term success of maintaining a cowrie in a captive environment without it dying of starvation.
As I mentioned earlier, most cowries do not make good tank mates. If you have a fish only tank, you could get away with a larger selection of these colorful snails without fear of having your prized collection of corals, sponge and other life forms being decimated. Some of these species grow to large and cumbersome in reef term genre. Similar to many urchins, their constant combing of the bottom of your tank and live rock could pose serious problems if your corals get knocked over or live rock falls down possibly landing on other life forms, injuring if not killing them. For the most part the cowry grows to a couple inches in size, though some of the larger species will obtain 4 inches in size.
The cowry is very critical of less than optimal water parameters and will surely die if not controlled. Salinity, pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates are the most crucial parameters that should read zero for the last three parameters and the first three should be stable and within range as well for the best results and health of your cowrie. Shipping of these snails tends to be difficult due to the high dissolved oxygen required by these snails.
Cowries are egg-shaped with the opening of the shell containing teeth as a form of defense. They also have a Mantle similar to Tridacna clams that extends through the opening of the shell and covers most of its exterior shell. Cowries use a "foot" for mobility in combing about the reefs and aquariums as well. Their foot is usually white, pink or cream colored and can measure twice as long as their shell. They also have antennae that enables them to search and locate food.
Hmmm, so apparently Tiger Cowries aren't reef safe. If you have a sump attached to your tank, I would add the cowrie there. Or see if anyone in your area has a fish-only that would take him.
As for your camera question, I would say to start a topic in the photography section or search the old posts. It pretty much depends on how much you want to spend. The best type you can get is a Digital SLR.
As I mentioned earlier, most cowries do not make good tank mates. If you have a fish only tank, you could get away with a larger selection of these colorful snails without fear of having your prized collection of corals, sponge and other life forms being decimated. Some of these species grow to large and cumbersome in reef term genre. Similar to many urchins, their constant combing of the bottom of your tank and live rock could pose serious problems if your corals get knocked over or live rock falls down possibly landing on other life forms, injuring if not killing them. For the most part the cowry grows to a couple inches in size, though some of the larger species will obtain 4 inches in size.
The cowry is very critical of less than optimal water parameters and will surely die if not controlled. Salinity, pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates are the most crucial parameters that should read zero for the last three parameters and the first three should be stable and within range as well for the best results and health of your cowrie. Shipping of these snails tends to be difficult due to the high dissolved oxygen required by these snails.
Cowries are egg-shaped with the opening of the shell containing teeth as a form of defense. They also have a Mantle similar to Tridacna clams that extends through the opening of the shell and covers most of its exterior shell. Cowries use a "foot" for mobility in combing about the reefs and aquariums as well. Their foot is usually white, pink or cream colored and can measure twice as long as their shell. They also have antennae that enables them to search and locate food.
Hmmm, so apparently Tiger Cowries aren't reef safe. If you have a sump attached to your tank, I would add the cowrie there. Or see if anyone in your area has a fish-only that would take him.
As for your camera question, I would say to start a topic in the photography section or search the old posts. It pretty much depends on how much you want to spend. The best type you can get is a Digital SLR.
forsfed50
Member
thanks I not only removed tiger into my, no coral tank but I located the shrooms. I found them almost immediately. I forgot I had a frag on a frag. He must have knocked them off. I still consider him a threat and said I was going to move him a month ago but he heard me and stayed hidden.Camera just enough to get by, as I have never needed one.
reefkprz
Active Member
tiger coweries are a cool adition to reef tanks WITH EXTREME CAUTION, I learned the hard way, they are meat eaters if suitabal diet is not present for them they will graze down anything that is going to fulfill the missing slot in their diet including non toxic zoanthids etc.
AKA read the preceeding statement as "no they are not reef safe"
AKA read the preceeding statement as "no they are not reef safe"
jeanheckle
Member
I just traded my tiger cowrie to my LFS for credit. He never ate any of my corals but he was like a bull in a china shop. He reaquascaped my tank daily.
