Strawberry Conch - died

[MInanoTank]

This morning I found my Strawberry Conch - unresponsive and covered by hermit crabs and nassarius snails.   He's been in my tank since early March.   As I'm sure he is dead - I've pulled him from the tank.

 

Couple of questions -

 

1) I know we don't know how old these inhabitants are when we put them in our tanks - but what is the average lifespan for a conch in a nano-reef? 

2) The shell is really cool - I would like to use it as a decoration of some sort ... how do you "clean" this?   

[Clown79]

Often the reason they die in nano's, is because small tanks can't provide them with the amount of food or food source they need.

 

 

To clean, I soak in vinegar water for a few days, then let dry.

[MInanoTank]

The conch was probably my favorite member on the clean up crew.   I would like to replace him - but if the tank isn't going support one, there's no sense in it.

 

As a side note - my nassarius snail population is exploding.   The other night I found 10 babies (maybe 1 mm big) crawling on the glass, as well as 4 slightly bigger (maybe 3-5mm big).    The original 2 large zombies are still in the tank as well.    Starting to wonder if all these zombies in the tank starved off the conch?

[dling]

I have a fighting conch. I've had it for a few years. I had two at the beginning but one died. I believe as Clown said

there was not enough food . Sorry for your loss. I agree, the conch is my favorite of my clean up crew also.