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pocilipora
01/20/2002, 05:39 PM
Just wondering if a Conch Snail is good or bad for a reef tank? I have an SPS dominated 90 gal aquarium, with a 4" deep sand bed.

MiNdErAsR
01/20/2002, 08:42 PM
Conch (Strombus spp.) is too general. There are conch species which will work out well, and others which do not.

One example of a conch Strombus maculatus aka Spotted conch is ideal for our tanks. They stay small (½" or so), eat film algae, and breed successfully in our tanks. Unfortunately you can only get them from Indo Pacific Sea Farms (http://www.ipsf.com/) and then only part of a package deal (unless you know someone willing to share).

Another is the Fighting Conch (Strombus alatus). Size ranges from 1-3" with a maximum of 5", bury themselves in the sand and are said to eat various algaes and cyanobacteria. Dr Ron states one inch of shell per square foot of actual sandbed (taking rockwork into account) for stocking. These tend to stay in the sandbed and not venture onto the liverock.

Other conch simply get too large for our tanks, and can be bulldozers.

HTH