Conch

[donna d]

Does anyone kmow what would cause a " fighting conch " to die. (if water is good ) i thought those guys were indistructable. And also what they look like when that happens/ (i mean do they come outta their shell)?

 

[nick76]

From my experience with them, They need a large sandbed for which to graze on Detris. Rule of Thumb is 100g tank or more for a fighting conch. They only eat Detris so obviously if they are in a smaller tank with other inverts that graze on the sand also. It will die from starvation. And They are attached to the shell, they do not come out like hermits. They are also easily picked on beacuse they have no real way to defend themselves other than to hide inside the shell.
I assume if they die they shrivel up inside the shell until something scavanges on the remains.
My Fighting conch is in a 55g but only beacuse he has the entire sand bed to himself. Hes going on 8 months in my tank.

 

[donna d]

do ya have to have Ls? cuz i have CC maybe thats my prob. He was fine earlier today cuz i was watching him ,their pretty cool looks like a cartoon crab with an elephant truck. Love to get the magnifying glass out for real close vision LOL!!!!

 

[puffer32]

I had one for afew months in my 150, so i had plenty of sand for mine. I did read that crabs kill them :notsure: I have an emerald and hermits, so not sure how mine met its fate :notsure:

 

[reefkprz]

hermits will kill for a shell (even if its not the right size) I have seen a hermit kill a small snail try the shell on and discard it, later to find one that was big enough on the other side of the tank. they will also kill if there isnt enough to scavange and they are just hungry. on glas most snails are safe because their grip is pretty strong but on uneven surfaces like rock and unsolid surfaces like sand they have no real protection.

 

[thereefkeeper]

Agreed! I have had many a snail come to an untimely death by hermits looking for a shell they did not even want. Normally this occured while they were crossing the glass divide (on the rubble in the bottom).

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by Donna D
do ya have to have Ls? cuz i have CC maybe thats my prob.
Mine love the ls..Maybe this is the problem..

 

[mandarin w]

Are you sure it is dead? Conches go into a hibernative state every few months. This is when they go. They will appear to be dead. They don't move or eat. This last for about two to three weeks. Then they are on the move again.

 

[donna d]

Well the reason i think its dead is cuz i can see his insides.Ya know how their body pretty much stays in the shell and the eyes & mouth r out(when their eating)? Well his body is kinda protruding out along w/ his eyes & mouth and he hasnt moved since last nite.(and hes usually all over the tank)But i do have 3 tiny little hermits(big bullys) so how does one keep both in their tank? i luv that little "conch"

 

[nick76]

Originally Posted by Donna D
Well the reason i think its dead is cuz i can see his insides.Ya know how their body pretty much stays in the shell and the eyes & mouth r out(when their eating)? Well his body is kinda protruding out along w/ his eyes & mouth and he hasnt moved since last nite.(and hes usually all over the tank)But i do have 3 tiny little hermits(big bullys) so how does one keep both in their tank? i luv that little "conch"

I would say the CC and the conch dont mix. I dont know if the right kind of algae will grow on cc instead of ls. If u want to see if hes dead just pick him up and see if he moves, if not...he's dead. Get him out of the tank then so he dosnt pollute your system with ammonia.
My Hermits and emeralds have never bothered him. I got more trouble from my cleaner shrimp which tries to get under or in the conch's shell every once n awhile n tries to pull on his eye stalks. Its kind of funny to watch.

 

[66chuck]

Even w/ a multitude of extra shells, my hermits killed both of my conchs. They wore their shells for a few days, then went back to less fashionable shells.

 

[mandarin w]

I would say the CC and the conch dont mix. I dont know if the right kind of algae will grow on cc instead of ls. If u want to see if hes dead just pick him up and see if he moves, if not...he's dead.
That is the reason for my post earlier, That is not actually so.
My conches are little eating machines. They go thru the tank non stop. And then out of the blue, they stop. They do not move, eat. You will see no sign of them. Years ago I also though "Oh man, other died" and would pull them out. This was until I was told they hibernate while they grow. I was told leave it alone. You will have to wait and see. Sometimes it takes about three weeks or so. But then they wake up and are on the move again. Mine do this several times a year. And yes, when they are hibernating there is no way to tell if they are hibernating or dead. When mine hibernate, you can see nothing of their bodies, they wont move no matter what happens to them. The one thing you do need to watch for is to make sure they don't get turn over. While in hibernation they are basically in a coma. They have no idea what is happening to them. So they don't realize they are turned over. If they get turned over, they will not turn them self rightside up. and they can die.
]

 

[nick76]

Originally Posted by mandarin w
That is the reason for my post earlier, That is not actually so. My conches are little eating machines. They go thru the tank non stop. And then out of the blue, they stop. They do not move, eat. You will see no sign of them. Years ago I also though "Oh man, other died" and would pull them out. This was until I was told they hibernate while they grow. I was told leave it alone. You will have to wait and see. Sometimes it takes about three weeks or so. But then they wake up and are on the move again. Mine do this several times a year. And yes, when they are hibernating there is no way to tell if they are hibernating or dead. When mine hibernate, you can see nothing of their bodies, they wont move no matter what happens to them. The one thing you do need to watch for is to make sure they don't get turn over. While in hibernation they are basically in a coma. They have no idea what is happening to them. So they don't realize they are turned over. If they get turned over, they will not turn them self rightside up. and they can die.
]
Ah so I see, well mines 3(1/2) inches and I monitor him pretty closely So he cant really go behind the rocks in the back. Sometimes he digs a hole n sleeps there for days at at time. I think this is the hibernation u speak of. 1st time I saw him do it I thought he was dead but after picking him up, he retracted. So I placed him back down and he went back 2 sleep. Got back to work few days later. Quite the clumsy lazy bum if u ask me lol. I dont think it bothers him I pick him up, He's pretty oblivious to everything. But Yea like he said make sure they stay upright.

 

[donna d]

Yeah but if he was hybernating wouldnt he be all the way up in his shell and not hanging out like he is now?

 

[mandarin w]

The only thing I could suggest if he is hanging out of his shell, is to test the levels of the tank, If you have an ammonia spike, then something would have to be causeing it, It may be him. And then I would say he is probley dead.