Conch without a shell?

[camustang]

Ok, this is a weird one.  I have a Fighting Conch.  Neat little creature.  I rearranged my rocks a little about a week or so ago and I lost sight him.  Ok, I was a little bummed, but I survived...

 

Suddenly, I was JUST looking at the front of my tank, and I see the STRANGEST thing.  I see something coming up out of the sand and moving around...like a small worm.  I look closer, and I see the two eye-stalks of my conch, along with his "snout" feeling around for food.  That's all I see...the eye-stalks and the snout.  I can't tell if he's just burried himself in the sand (shell intact) or if he's shell-less.

 

I think that I MAY have trapped him under a big rock a week ago (in his shell) and that climbed out rather than starve (I feel bad)...

 

...ok...question:  I thought that conchs were attached to their shells...and grew them like snails did...how can he be alive without his shell?  Can I either find his shell for him (and untrap it) or give him another, and he'll climb in like hermit crabs do?  I haven't stuck my hand in the tank yet to look under the sand as I didn't want to traumatize him further...

 

...I tried to take a picture to post, but it is SO small in the tank that it wouldn't come out.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

-Andrew

[Fant]

Snails cannot survive out of their shell. Unlike hermit crabs, they actually create their shells and the shells grow with the snail. I doubt it is out of its shell. It may however be some sort of nudibranch or other funky critter.

[SBGRAD24]

mine does that all the time. It looks like they don't have a shell but it's buried under the sand. I don't think they can live without a shell

[camustang]

Ok, well, it's about 1am here (and the tank light is off), and I just looked and it seems as if he's still in his shell after all...I'd never seen him bury himself completely like that and I was wondering...

 

Thanks for the posts...

[Sahin]

 

Now that was a happy ending