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Conch eating surface scum?


Alexraptor

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Has anyone known fighting conchs to feed on a surface scum?

 

He made his way up ontop of one of the return pipes from my refugium and has been sitting on it for a couple of hours now, lapping up floating debris and surface scum. :huh:

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Maybe a big nassarius snail? They love climbing around and bury in the sand - they can be ID'd by the big trunk like appendage that sticks out in front of them scoping the place out.

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Definitely NOT a fighting conch. As was said, they can't climb glass. You should probably get a pic so you know what you have.

 

not necessarily true. My conch climbs glass on occasion.

 

IMG_0859.jpg

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Conchs actually eat a lot, him climbing the glass could mean that he is not getting enough off of your sandbed or rocks. Especially if you have a good cleanup crew.

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not necessarily true. My conch climbs glass on occasion.

 

IMG_0859.jpg

 

 

But.. how? Mine can't climb anything. He pushes around with his foot and can sometimes work his way up on to the lower rocks, but he's never shown any ability to be sticky and climb glass like a snail.

 

He also doesn't have the same shell pattern as yours... I still think there's a lot of confusion going around about what kind of conch is what in the hobby. Mine was advertised as a fighting conch, and he does a great job keeping the sand clean (in fact, I don't have any nassarius and the sand stays spotless). Mine looks more like this (not my pic):

 

P51848.jpg

 

But I've also seen something like this advertised as fighting conch (which I think is totally false):

 

4599758311_161d2ca0c1.jpg

 

 

*shrug*

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That last pic is a conch but a differnt type. It is a tiger conch which is what I have. Still used the spike to travel around.

 

Also I found out when I was changing my tank over to the 90 those spikes can cause some serious damage. When I was transplanting him to the 90 by hand he started thrusting that spike out at me and gave me a pretty nice cut on my hand, Damn thing used it like a switch blade and sliced me up ! So be careful handling them, net suggested !

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So now you have a scumsucking slasher. Most unique mollusk ever, I must say!

 

I didn't know that they could cut like that, I'll definitely be careful with them.

 

 

I've always had a fear of getting a cone-snail in with live rock, and taking a harpoon to the hand.

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So now you have a scumsucking slasher. Most unique mollusk ever, I must say!

 

I didn't know that they could cut like that, I'll definitely be careful with them.

 

 

I've always had a fear of getting a cone-snail in with live rock, and taking a harpoon to the hand.

 

Yeah a little Jason Voorhees with a built in hockey mask and machette !

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I have had conchs for years. I have seen mine raise up on the glass, but never leave the floor of the aquarium.They would have to have some kind of ledging to climb since they are only mobile via a horny operculum to propel themselves forward.

 

Unlike other snails whose foot wrinkles into little rippling waves, which produces corresponding waves in the mucus layer that it secretes between the foot and the air. Parts of the mucus film get squeezed while other parts are stretched, creating a pressure that pushes the foot and snail forward. This mucus is what holds the snail to the surface it is moving on.

 

Awpong I can't deny what you have seen and since I once owned a 3 eyed conch stranger things can happen. But as designed by nature a conch to climb up the side of an aquarium is just not physically possible.

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I'll be dammed! Nice find awpong. I have never seen my conchs do this and would not believe it possible if I had not seen it with my own 2 eyes.

 

Thanks for the schooling awpong :)

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Conchs actually eat a lot, him climbing the glass could mean that he is not getting enough off of your sandbed or rocks. Especially if you have a good cleanup crew.

 

I had considered that, but he's completely ignored any supplemental food offerings.

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I have a fighting conch that climbs the glass too...or maybe the experts on NR are right and I actually didnt see it, I just thought I did and the infinite widsom of NR has proven my visions wrong. How could I be so niave....forgetting to consult the NR gods weather something is possible or not lol

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