Are Conchs aggresive

[kyarnkid]

I was thinking of getting one or two, but their name kind of scares me. Are they aggresive or bad to mix with other snails or crabs? I am getting green algae all over my sand bed and I was thinking of getting a few of these guys. How many should I get?
I have a 55 and a DSB. They do not eat pods do they? What are some other names for them, so I can ask my LFS if they have any.
Also whats the difference in Queen and Fighting Conchs? Thanks guys

 

[ebeckels]

those are the only names i've ever heard for them...I have 2 queen conch's and they are fine... at first they buried in the dsb...now they act like the turbo snails and hang out on the glass! mine do not appear to be agressive at all.

 

[kyarnkid]

are they good eaters?
Do they mow down algae and which conchs do you have?

 

[diatom]

Queen conchs (12"+) get huge and will outgrow most tanks.
Fighting Conchs stay smaller.
They are excellant sand cleaners. Don't buy to many. 1-2 SF of sand/ inch of shell.

 

[trigahappynigerog]

they are aggressive cleaners

 

[kyarnkid]

A Queen Conch gets up to a foot long? Why does SWF.com say that they only grow an inch?

 

[trigahappynigerog]

yeah i was wondering the same???... they probably sell them that size.

 

[kyarnkid]

TRIGAHAPPY,
Do you have any conches? What other names do they have because SWF.com I think is one of the only sights that have conches. Which ones do you recommend.

 

[beth]

Strombus is the genus for "conchs" and they are commonly reffered to as strombus snails, etc., in the hobby. If you will do a web brouser search, I think you will find all the info you need.

 

[razhill]

Are your "conches" the type in the Florida keys? We brought back a pretty orange one (about an inch) and in a year he had eaten about 50 snails and got twice as big. You could see him swallowing the little suckers.

 

[trigahappynigerog]

that makes me wanna get one

 

[tanggirl123]

well i have one in my tank i think they are agreat addition to any tank that needs help cleaning substrate mine is an eating machine and in just a few months has almost grown 3 or 4 times the size i bought it and mines not aggressive he just cleans all day and they're really neat to see because if a hermit crab or snail comes near it he will use his foot and jump right over it <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" /> its a site to see
~kelly~

 

[wally]

Originally posted by Razhill:
<strong>Are your "conches" the type in the Florida keys? We brought back a pretty orange one (about an inch) and in a year he had eaten about 50 snails and got twice as big. You could see him swallowing the little suckers.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes Conchs are in the Keys but you do not have a conch. What you have is a type of whelk. They look very similar but whelks as you have found out LOVE to eat other mollusks. They have a drill like mouth and can drill right into snail, oyster, and clam shells. If you have ever been to the beach and found shells (esp. clam) with a perfect hole in them up near where the hinge should be than you have seen the work of whelks.

 

[mlm]

I have four fighting conchs in my tank and I love to watch them. They do an excellent job in cleaning and they always stay in the sand. 3 of them are always visible on top the sand and the other one is always buried with its eyes poking out of the sand like a periscope on a submarine. They are very neat.

 

[y2says]

I was thinking about getting one myself to rid my glass with those nasty green algae. Will they eat them up or do they mostly stay on the rocks?