What do Florida Fighting Conch eat?

[archman]

Nuts!
Marc's article refers to QUEEN CONCH, which has a much different diet and behaviour than other members in the family.

One inch of sand is sufficient. If you put too much in, the thing will bury completely and you'll have trouble finding it (spy out the siphons).

You also want to avoid deep sand for tank sanitation puposes. Try to get the coarsest sand you can find, to facilitate dissolved oxygen movement. "River Sand" is fine, but fine coral debris is too coarse for burrowing snails. It needs to be ground up into sand-sized particles so the snails can burrow effectively. If it's too pebbly, the critter will dig out a hole and just sit there... irritated. That's fine for Murex, but conchs are active and like to move around a lot.

What are you using for a filter?

 

[sea_dragon]

Nuts!
Marc's article refers to QUEEN CONCH, which has a much different diet and behaviour than other members in the family.
What are you using for a filter?

right now i am have a 1o gal tank with sand and airfilter.... i am just learning about this topic... i just really love it...

 

[sea_dragon]

what kind of filter should i use??

 

[archman]

You want to avoid filters with exposed impellers... they'll suck up sand and get all jacked up.

I have best success with the ancient-style airlift bottom filter boxes. Some people call them "corner or box filters". It's just a perforated, clear plastic box that you stuff with filter floss and charcoal, and run an airstone through. They sell them at Wal-Mart for like $8 or something. These filters can't handle heavy filtration loads, so avoid lots of fish and clean up any uneaten food.

If you're able to acquire some of the "sand hermit crabs" like Isocheles or Paguris pollicaris (they're white coloured and hyperactive), those suckers clean sand like you wouldn't believe. Don't put in rocky-substrate hermit crabs; they don't do well.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

:read:
WOW thanks a whole lot... i really enjoy learning about the different critters of the sea... you have a lot of knowlege....i could learn a lot from u:read:

I wish I could take credit for all that. But it's amazing what you get when type "what do conchs eat" into Google. eyebrow

Listen to archman - he's the real deal. He even helped me identify sea cucumber poop once.

Marc

 

[sea_dragon]

yeah... it is amazing... but nothing is like asking a question on scuba Board so others can learn too....

 

[DavidPT40]

Filters take at least 6 weeks to become fully biologically active. So until then, I suggest you change the water in your aquarium at least once a week. If possible, just use real seawater rather than trying to mix seasalt and tap water.

 

[archman]

Depends on the filter, and what you have in your tank. If there's just that stinking conch (and maybe a few other things) in there, and you're using a simple corner filter, the activated charcoal will do just fine for months. You don't need to do any water changes.

I fill my sand tank filters about one-third up with carbon, and the rest with lightly fluffed floss. Both the floss and charcoal will eventually convert into bio-filters, and so long as the floss doesn't turn brown or black, it's still "good".

I also throw a heavy lead sinker inside to weigh the thing down. Once that airstone gets to working, it tends to float the filter box.

 

[DavidPT40]

I'm not sure what a corner filter is. Maybe thats a type of trickling filter? A large canister filter could be filled with activated charcoal. Remember to rinse the activated charcoal before you put it in your tank or your water will turn black.

 

[archman]

Trickle filter, good heavens no. You're thinking too grand. A corner filter is the 2nd most primitive aquarium filter known, right after the undergravel system. It's nothing more than a perforated box stuffed full of filter media, airlift-driven, sunk into the bottom corner of a tank. These type systems have been around since the 1950's. Fancy aquarium stores rarely stock them anymore, 'cuz they're dirt cheap, idiot-proof, long-lived, and don't require any pricey accessories. At least that's our lab's theory.

Here's a nice informational website on these things.
http://www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aquariums/Cornerfilter.html