I think I lost my conch

[Anonymous]

I have had a conch with an orange and white shell in my tank for quite a while, probably almost a year. It would go through stages where it would move around a bunch and then it would just stay mostly buried under sand for weeks, and then it would be spotted climbing the live rock. So, I don't really keep track of it much at all, just rejoice when I get a chance to watch it.

Anyway, during a water change the other day I saw the shell sitting in the back of the tanks, so I picked it up to look at it. Well, the shell appears to be mostly empty, there appears to still be some snail in the shell but it doesn't look full like it did. I set it up front and its been there ever since. Unmoving.

Anyway, Since I really do nothing to care for the conch I don't know what I did wrong, I don't think any of the other inhabitants ate it because there aren't any real predators in the tank.

some blue legged hermits
2 chalk bass
1 long nosed hawkfish
1 bicolor blenny
Rock anenome

That is all I can think of. My crazy mad hungry brittle star has been living in my sump for a couple months. so he is out. The only other possibility is that the emerald crab that I purchased a year ago is still alive and eating things. However, I haven't seen the emerald crab in all this time, not once anywhere so I don't think that is a very big possibility.

Any ideas on what might of happened? I would hope that I didn't need to target feed that conch cause he would be awfully hard to find most of the time.

 

[Anonymous]

Most likely the S. alatus starved or is starving to death. Pieces of nori or a product like Seaweed Select™ should be provided for them if adequate algae isn't available. Your other critters will finish off the remains of the conch.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

:evil:

That is dissapointing to hear


I have had plenty of hair and brown algae in that tank though, in fact it kind of looked like a grass farm for a while there....

 

[Anonymous]

Aren't these guys diatom eaters?

 

[Anonymous]

I just looked at it, still hasn't moved in 3 days, but I see about a 1/4" more snail sticking out towards the front of the shell, not sure if its actually alive or just decaying or whatever. There are no crabs or bristle worms that I can see around it.


maybe it was just bent in half inside its shell playing with itself... :lol:

 

[Mihai]

Perhaps try to put some nori under the shell?
M.

 

[Nautilus1]

smell it

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with David.

 

[Anonymous]

When my fighting conch died I wasn't sure until I took it out and smelled the worst smell ever. I've been around many stinky dead people and the conch smelled the worst IMO. For a while I though he was still alive, but after he was still for three days I finally caught on.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Its there still, no change

I will smell it later

 

[Anonymous]

I lost a conch when it went to the back of the tank and got caught, and couldn't turn around. ....just a thought.

~wings~

 

[Anonymous]

Nice avatar, wings!

 

[Anonymous]

I just looked at it, its still in the same place, but its dark and the lights are off so I peeked with a flashlight.

The head was out a bit, still not sticking out of the shell, but almost and when the light hit it it retracted back into the shell.

I am going to pick up some nori today to see if that helps.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Chrispy!

That's cool, KH! Great news.

~wings~

 

[Anonymous]

I had a conch bury himself in the sand for a week and a half, then returned to normal. Maybe it is nothing.

 

[Anonymous]

Allright, I have him sitting on top of a piece now

Hey, dangit, my fish like it

And people in a chinese restaurant have no idea what nori is

they have pressed dried seaweed though...

 

[Anonymous]

And people in a chinese restaurant have no idea what nori is

That's because Nori is Japanese. Used for sushi. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

And people in a chinese restaurant have no idea what nori is

That's because Nori is Japanese. Used for sushi. :lol:

NOW you tell me


:lol:


My wife is a bit P.O'd at me for sending her out to look like a fool asking for Japanese things at a Chinese restaurant

:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Allright

The snail has moved over night. Because the hermit crabs were eating the sheet of Nori I took the snail and put it on the remains of the sheet on the sand and this morning the snail is about 2 inches over from where I put it.

So, here is my ten thousand dollar question

How do you feed it? Just stick a sheet near it whenever I see it? I mean, sometimes its missing for a couple weeks while its under the sand

Its not like a dog which will run up and pant when its hungry you know.

 

[Anonymous]

Allright

The snail has moved over night. Because the hermit crabs were eating the sheet of Nori I took the snail and put it on the remains of the sheet on the sand and this morning the snail is about 2 inches over from where I put it.

So, here is my ten thousand dollar question

How do you feed it? Just stick a sheet near it whenever I see it? I mean, sometimes its missing for a couple weeks while its under the sand

Its not like a dog which will run up and pant when its hungry you know.

yeah, whenever you see it out an about, rubber band a piece of nori and set it within reach of it - it'll eat when its hungry