Disappearing Conchs?

[hfmann]

Is it normal behavior for both queen and fighting conchs to bury themselves and hide for weeks at a time? My queen conch disappeared for two months and I just couldn't believe it when it surfaced out of the sand right in front of my eyes. It stayed out for about 2 weeks and disappeared again along with the two small fighting conchs. When the queeen recently rejoined the activity, both the smaller fighting conchs did too?

Hal
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[Anonymous]

Yeah, that's pretty normal for conchs. I have gone over a month without seeing mine.

 

[WRASSER]

hfmann,
i thought queen conchs were illegal to own. maybe it's just in Florida, i don't know. can you help me?



wrasser 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I think, just in florida...Ive seen them sold here in Nevada...yes they do burry themselves...

 

[WRASSER]

i guess that leaves me out with the queens here in florida, until i move! thanx for your help lordnikon. i will leave the queens on floor!



wrasser 8)

 

[teevee]

Queens supposedly do not bury themselves. Many many many LFS' sell conches that are not queens as queens. But yes, many conches do remain under the sand for months at a time.

Check out the links I've posted in this thread to positively ID your conches.
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6112

 

[hfmann]

Thanks everybody. That really helps. I thought something was drastically wrong that these guys would "disappear".

A store sold me the Queen Conch as a fighting conch. The "knobs" didn't look very big so not having seen a fighting conch before, I believed him. Now that I have a couple of small fighting ones, I know better.

When I visited Key West Aquarium in the spring, the marine biologist told me it was illegal to collect Queen Conchs from Florida waters. However, many places here in the North have them for sale at less then $10. I wonder if they aren't captive bred?

Thanks again,
Hal
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[DustinDorton]

The majority of conch that you see on the market (queen and fighting) are farm raised.
Queen conchs (strombus gigas) are raised on an island in the caribbean. The egg masses are collected from the wild and raised in captivity. Fighting conch (strombus alatus) are only raised in Florida by ORA.

It is illegal to collect queen conch from Florida waters, but the sale of captive raised animals is allowed.

 

[Anonymous]

why do they call them fighting conchs??

 

[Anonymous]

I've never seen my queen conch bury itself.

 

[DustinDorton]

They swing their operculum around like its a "sword" if you pick them up. I guess they try to fight you off.

Thats the story I was told, and they really do that. There may very well be a better explanation than that though.

 

[bowfront]

I've never seen my queen conch bury itself.

Me either sounds like something other than a true queen conch.

 

[DustinDorton]

Queen conch do bury themselves, especially in the day time.

 

[WRASSER]

i've herd that queens are very aggressive and will eat your fish at night.




wrasser 8)

 

[teevee]

Quoting from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/strombus/s._gigas$narrative.html:

"[Queen] conchs graze, primarily feeding on algae, and as larvae they eat plankton. Feeding has been observed on hard bottomed habitats and in rubble. Foraminiferans, bryozoans, and small bivalves and gastropods have also been found in conch stomachs but were probably ingested accidentally while grazing."

"Queen conchs bury into the sand for short 'dormancy' periods during winter storms, and also to hide from predators."

Therefore I stand corrected. I personally feel that the UMich source is relatively accurate. Please note the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. Further searches resulted in similar data.

 

[hfmann]

Nice source of information TeeVee. After reading their description of the queeen: "They have a large, flaring lip..", I'd have to say that mine isn't a Queen after all. It just doesn't have that large lip as also pictured in some other link sources here. I wonder what it is?

Thanks again for all the help folks.

Hal
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[teevee]

Check out http://www.gastropods.com/Taxon_pages/Group_Conch.html for a positive ID on your conch. There are a number that looks just like Strombus gigas.

 

[DustinDorton]

Queens dont get the flared out lip until they get pretty large.

Do you have a picture of your conch?

 

[hfmann]

Wow TeeVee, that's quite a list. Dont' know where to start. It's interesting that they show pix of the fighting conch both with and without the "spiky knobs" that everyone says distinguish the fighting from Queen.

Dustin, here's a couple of pix. Sorry the glass wasn't clean for these pix from several months ago. This guy is about 3 1/2" and doesn't appear to have grown much in the 6 months I've had him. The two small conchs I've got that have "smooth" shells (no knobs) are about 1" long. Sorry no pix of the little guys.
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[DustinDorton]

That is not a fighting conch and queen conch normally have more elongated shells than that. If I get a chance this week I will show the picture to a few people who may be able to identify it.