Sand cleaning - fighting or tiger conch

[nrbelk]

I have heard that some good sand cleaners are the conch snails. Are some better than others?

The two I've been thinking about are fighting conch or a tiger conch?

Any info would be appreciated, thanks!

[nrbelk]

any one with knowledge where I lack?

[EasyEd77]

I purchased 4 of them for my 75 gallon from reefs2go.com and I am happy with them. They are fun to watch and do a good job of keeping the sand white. At first I only had one and it did not move around enough to keep up with cleaning. I only wanted to get one more but reefs2go was running a special so I couldn't resist. It's not like they are hard to catch if they become a problem. ;-).

[nrbelk]

what kind did you get, fighting or tiger?

[EasyEd77]

I believe three of them are tigers and one of them is a fighting. One definitely looks different than the others, it has more of a white shell with brown lines on it.

[Kfig7]

I have 2 fighting conch in my 75 gallon and they do a great job. One of my favorite things in my tank

[jsantoli]

I have a few fighting conchs and they do a great job with the sand

[chuck116]

+ 1 on fighting conch , how about a sand sifting starfish ? I have one that works great.

[hoffy02]

I have a spider conch in my 120.. not only is he awesome but he does a good job in the sand bed and low rocks...

[greech]

Have 3 fighting conchs in my 40 gallon. Mine stay submerged in the sand for weeks sometimes and I can see is there eyes sticking up out of the sand. I do see trails in the sand in the morning so they come out at night. Everyone once in a while I see one on top of the sand for a couple of days. They do a good job though when they decide to work

[Fishamatank]

I have both fighting and tiger. The tigers are a little bigger so I guess they do a better job of stirring the sand. Either way they are both cool, but I think I like the tigers a little better they seem to be more active.

[gumbii]

what about olive snails...? are those tiger conches...? i've seen a pair of olive snails take care of a 6'x30" shallow tank...

[Fishamatank]

No, not the same thing.
Aren't olive snails predatory?

[ludnix]

I have two fighting conches in my tank. They have outlived most other snails so I'm pleased with them in that respect, but I'm skeptical that they really move all that much sand. I guess after seeing my 3 adult engineer gobies work on the tank nothing compares.

[d0ughb0y]

agree on the goby. op may want to consider a goby instead of an invert.
I have one diamond goby and it can do one heck of a better job than anything I have tried. it goes through the whole sand bed and not just a small spot, everyday. likewise, for algae, a lawnmower blenny does a lot better job than all my snails combined.

[VacavilleFC3S]

i have 2 queen conchs, fighting conch

[johnike]

The conchs work, but a black cucumber is a sand cleaning machine!

[mjtncsu]

If you don't have any crabs, the cucumber is the way to go if you want pure white sand. I already have hermit crabs and a couple of emeralds, so I recently got 2 fighting conchs in my 180g. I'll probably have to get more, but they are amazing. I was unaware of their abilities until I tank-sat one for my friend while he got his system up and running (he got it as a package deal.) My sand literally looked better overnight, and it is obvious which side of the tank he preferred.

[johnike]

Yep, cucumbers. In with the bad sand, out with the good!

[mthomp]

I use nass snails myself. can someone chime in and give me arating over nass snails to concs?

[jenjen]

I have had good success with the Orange Lip Conch. I have 3 in my 180g and 1 in my 55g. They get to around 3". Mine stay buried most of the time, with only their eyes sticking out. They do a decent job of stirring the top inch or so of sand.

Here's a pic:

[johnike]

Originally Posted by mthomp

I use nass snails myself. can someone chime in and give me arating over nass snails to concs?

I have in the 180 with a DSB, 1 Black cuke, 1 fighting conch, and maybe a dozen assorted Nassarius snails. You can overdo it though, and strip your sand bed. The cucumber seems to be the most efficient member of the crew.

[mthomp]

yeah i have i think 6 nass snails in my 55.

[mjtncsu]

Originally Posted by mthomp

I use nass snails myself. can someone chime in and give me arating over nass snails to concs?

I had nassarius snails for a while and they do clean the sand a little. It is just that I noticed a huge difference with the first fighting conch. For their size, they consume a lot of detritus.

[rayn]

Originally Posted by mjtncsu

If you don't have any crabs, the cucumber is the way to go if you want pure white sand. I already have hermit crabs and a couple of emeralds, so I recently got 2 fighting conchs in my 180g. I'll probably have to get more, but they are amazing. I was unaware of their abilities until I tank-sat one for my friend while he got his system up and running (he got it as a package deal.) My sand literally looked better overnight, and it is obvious which side of the tank he preferred.

Why can't crabs and cucumbers be mixed? I have three emeralds and a couple of red legs with my black cucumber and they all work out.