Fighting Conch-Queen Conch

hurt

hurt

Active Member
Yesterday I bought two fighting conches for my 55g DT. I thought the fighting conches were the small ones(4in), and the Queen Conches the large ones (12in). Then I just looked at the inverts on this page for sale. It says the fighting conches should be kept in an aquarium no smaller than 100 gallons? It say to keep 1 queen conch per 20 gallons? Is it just me or does this website have them listed backwards?
 
hurt

hurt

Active Member
because the ones(FIGHTING CONCHS) on this website are WILD. therefore they get very BIG.
Who told you this? I did a google search and they all say the wild fighting conches grow to only 3 or 4 inches.
http://www.seashells.org/seashells/fightingconch.htm
http://www.orafarm.com/conch.html
And I found this old link of SWF.com-it states one fighting conch per 30g. I'm confused about why SWF.com currently lists them as such. Am I missing anything else?
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...64e44fe576b7fb
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
Originally Posted by http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gastropo.htm
Strombus alatus, the Florida Fighting Conch. Here fighting after death so it seems with a Queen Conch. most 2 1/3 to 3 1/2 inches. To five inches maximum. Shells with large knobs as last whorl of spires. Opening reddish orange in life. Head mottled brown, with long whitish eye stalks, large white ended proboscis.
seems pretty big to me. could possibly get up to 5 inches. they also need a bigger tank because of their fighting behavior. they cruise around a lot and if they run into eachother too much they will fight. if fighting is too violent you could loose one.
 
celacanthr

celacanthr

Active Member
They do not need a 100 gallon tnak, in fact I know of several peope with fighting conchs at 4" in tanks as small as 25 gallons.
Also, where did you hear that queen conchs that are aquacultured are smaller?
 
hurt

hurt

Active Member
They actually don't fight, the name is a misnomer, and this source says they grow to only 3 inches. I just don't understand why this site lists them as they do? Am I wrong about something?
http://www.orafarm.com/conch.html
"Fighting Conch do not fight with anything in the aquarium, so it's a bit of a misleading name. The name derives from the fact that they partake in a ritualistic mating fight between males to determine sexual dominance. They do not disturb any reef tank inhabitants such as corals, clams, or other invertebrates. S. alatus only grow to about 3 inch size, so they will not "out-grow" the tank. ORA sells Fighting Conch at 1-1 1/2 inches. At this size they are "hermit crab proof", so small hermits cannot eat them and steal their shells."
http://www.2cah.com/pandora/S_alatus.html
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
listen i'm just putting my advise up you can either take it or leave it. i'm just trying to help you. if you don't want to listen. i don't know if you know this but most aquacultured animals of any type will typically stay somewhat small that something that was brought from the wild. ever heard of adapting to one's environment. after a few generations have been kept in captivity they begin to adapt.
 
hurt

hurt

Active Member
Easy buddy.
Relax, I was not trying to be rude what so ever. It's just what I have learned is completely different from what you are saying. So I posted the sources of what I've learned to back up some of my statements. I don't see anything wrong with that
. I appreciate your responses and everyone elses.
And I'm lost on what you are saying in regards to captivity. I thought you said the wild fighting conches get very big? No? Then you say they adapt to their environment over generations? I'm lost on that one. Feel free to enlighten me. And again, I appreciate everyones responses, yours included
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
a wild conch has been taken out of the ocean, he was born there. an aquacultured or captive conch was born in an aquarium. get what i'm saying now?
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
They do not need a 100 gallon tnak, in fact I know of several peope with fighting conchs at 4" in tanks as small as 25 gallons.
Also, where did you hear that queen conchs that are aquacultured are smaller?
and by the way that's just wrong. not only are they cramped in there but they can't have enough food source btw the two of them unless they're the only cleanup crew
 
celacanthr

celacanthr

Active Member
Well, actually it is the only cleanup crew, and it is a tank that mimics their natural habitat...a biotope if you will. It is a florida seagrass tank, very nice if I may say so.
Why do you say it would be cramped? It has 360 sq. inches of space. it is only 5" long.
Oh, and I meant 20 gallons.
 
celacanthr

celacanthr

Active Member
Also, the only limiting factor to an aquacultured creatures eventual size is the size of the parents, so if the parents got to 12" then the descendants would stay somwhere near that.
Also, considering that queen conchs live a pretty long time, and grow fairly slowly, so it may just seem that they are smaller, but maybe they just haven't gotten to there full size.
 
hurt

hurt

Active Member
a wild conch has been taken out of the ocean, he was born there. an aquacultured or captive conch was born in an aquarium. get what i'm saying now?
Very interesting, news to me :notsure:
Seriously though, you stated a wild a conch gets very big, as in a wild conch will get much larger than an aquacultered one. The ones this site sells are wild. I posted more than one site that stated a WILD fighting conch will only reach a max size of 4 inches. But you keep seem to be implying the "wild" fighting conches reach 12 inches or so. In response to the reason this site states they should be kept in a tank at least 100g, you specifically stated,
because the ones(FIGHTING CONCHS) on this website are WILD. therefore they get very BIG.
Then you stated,
i don't know if you know this but most aquacultured animals of any type will typically stay somewhat small that something that was brought from the wild. ever heard of adapting to one's environment. after a few generations have been kept in captivity they begin to adapt.
Even if an aquacultured queen conch is smaller than a wild one at 12 inches, I'm sure it will still get much larger than a wild fighting conch of only 4 inches. This is where you lost me in your reasoning. Again, I'm really not trying to argue with you, just trying to understand what you are saying.
But back to the original post, am I wrong about the way this site lists the two? Shouldn't the descriptions of each be backwards?
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
caly - that's not cramped i thought you meant they were in a reef tank. that sounds pretty cool.
hurt - i'm not disagreeing with you. wild conchs only get to about 4 inches but they can possibly get up to 5". an aquacultured conch would probably only get to about 2 1/2-3 inches. i'm not exactly sure but i do know that the wild conchs of any type;queen or fighting, are almost always a little bigger than the aquacultured conchs. and conchs don't exactly fight but if they get to close they will knock eachother around. i saw a conch launch a hermit crab that had crawled on him across the rockwork one time. they have a foot that they can flick around. now i don't know about you but i think that 4-5" conches knocking eachother around in my tank would wreck my reef. not to mention them just knocking rocks over when grazing. i've had 2" turbo snails do it so i couldn't imagine a 4" conch.
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
Also, considering that queen conchs live a pretty long time, and grow fairly slowly, so it may just seem that they are smaller, but maybe they just haven't gotten to there full size.

yes conchs live a pretty good while, of coarse not as long in captivity as in the wild but they will last a pretty good time. they are very efficient cleaners though i know that. i have 6 aquacultured queens in my 75g reef and they keep the sand spotless.
I've seen them with my own two eyes eat hair algae, slime algae, and detritus
 
hurt

hurt

Active Member
Now I am completely lost on your reasoning? You have SIX queen conches in your 75G? WOW! :scared: I thought you were just scolding celacanthr's friend for have one fighting conch in a 20g? I'm pretty sure an aquacultured queen conch will get much larger than 4-5 inches. But, I seriously doubt a fighting conch will actually be able to move a 5lb peice of LR. I'm not too concerned with them destroying my reef, for they stay on the bottom. Thanks for the insight though, I do appreciate your responses. From what I've learned they can "jump" when threatened, and that is probably what you saw with the hermit. Again, I'm not trying to argue, I'm just trying to understand your reasoning. :thinking:
 
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