guys i waited weeks for this fighting conch to get in stock at liveaquaria. And now that i have it, the thing just sits there. Its been two days and it hasnt moved other than to expose its eyes and look around and take its mouth parts and do a "clean sweep" of small half-dollar sized area that it's sitting at. It hasnt cleaned any of the brown diatoms off of the sand and im started to wonder why. Its not dead....just not moving. Whats this thing's problem?

How long did ya acclimate it for?

a little over an hour. He, some hermits and a feather duster worm i got were all drip acclimated together.

all of the other inhabitants that were acclimated with him are doing fine.

Perhaps there is plenty of food where he is sitting. Mine do very well, but Halloween Crabs will eat them out of their shells!

possibly but doubtful considering that he hasnt cleaned aqay any of the diatoms in the area that hes sitting.

How old is the tank and whats your tank's temp?

the tank has been setup since sept '06 and i keep a chiller on this tank because it holds my H. erectus pair at 73 degrees but it varies between 73-75 degrees.

how long has it been in the tank ?? it may still be getting use to its new home. sometimes it takes things a while to become "at home" in a box.

this would be day 3. But it should at least be moving around shouldnt it? I mean it's just sitting there moving it's mouth and eyes around not cleaning anything.

Hmm, your sure it's not dead??? Cause 3 days is a little long, for it not to have moved. I once had a large algae grazing snail, that was used to cooler temperatures and once the temp. reached over 78*F it stopped moving, but looked very much alive. I picked it up just above the surface of the water and it smelled of death...:cry: poor poor peatree, i mean poor lil guy

nope, hes very much alive. I picked him up today and poked at his little spur and it retracted back into the shell quick as a whistle. Hes not dead. Now, what do i do?

then it could just not be used to the water yet, maybe the lights, or he's just a lil shy guy

i would put him in a shaded spot under a ledge, and watch him for a couple of days. he may just be a slow acclimation species.

I have three in my tank and they just sit there also, but I caught them all in a single file line moving through the tank at night. but come morning time, they are all back over in the same corner they came from. Maybe he is doing the same thing.

In the wild, fighting conchs tend to stay hidden during the day, feeding once in a while by extending its snout, and only move around a lot at night. I've had a single one in my tank for a little over a year and the first 6 months I barely saw him/her. It is now moving around more that it seems to be more used to the tank.

Fighting conchs also tend to be found in warmer water than your seahorse tank so it might be feeling a bit "sluggish".

Brian

The conchs in my tank are relentless movers. They have grown from small little 1" conchs to a destructive 5 inches. I think they are in there scheming now as to what coral to knock over next.

The conchs in my tank are relentless movers. They have grown from small little 1" conchs to a destructive 5 inches. I think they are in there scheming now as to what coral to knock over next.

From that size I would guess queen conchs? They are know for their wily scheming, plotting and general destructive mayhem :D

Brian

I am not sure what species mine is, but it was under my sand for at least 2 weeks before he made his way out to explore. Now he is out more han in and has become one of my favorite inhabitents. Here is a photo or two from March.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i233/wildeone/IMG_0881.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i233/wildeone/IMG_0883.jpg


Any ideas on a species???

That's a Queen Conch like mine.

Adam,

your tank may be on the cool side for the conch, which is why it may not be moving much. give it a bit more time to get used to your system. also, remember that it won't really do much more than cruise the substrate or bury itself. i have found them to be great members of the CUC in our systems.

HOW do you cet coralline to grow on those shells? VERY pretty!

HOW do you cet coralline to grow on those shells? VERY pretty!
I don't think you can do anything to get it to grow it just happens. :)