Fighting conch ... regular behavior?

Goldndoodle · 02/16/2015, 07:46 AM

So Thursday I added the last of my CUC to the new tank to get them working on a GHA outbreak. As part of the CUC, I purchased 2 Fighting Conch - I've never owned any of these CUC members before, so I'm not personally familiar with their personalities.

Thursday night and all day Friday - both of them cruised around the tank eating GHA off of the sand bed. Saturday morning, I noticed one of the two had half buried itself in the sand, and wasn't moving around. It has been in the same spot - apparently without moving - for at least 48 hours right now.

Is this normal behavior?

ReefsandGeeks · 02/16/2015, 08:03 AM

yes, this is normal. Mine used to cruise around all day and night for a month, then one day decided it was time to bury itself in the sand. I hear they come out at night, but I adn't seen mine in weeks, so I figured it was a gonner. Then when cleaning the class I saw something shoot into the snadbed. I looked, and slowly poking back out was Crazy eye's eye (his name is crazy eyes). Turns out he pokes his eye out of the sand bed, and when the coast is clear he sticks that long mouth ofhis out and eats what's in reach without ever leaving the sand. He did this for a couple sees after i noticed and just this weekend decided it was time to reamerge, and has been cruising around for a few days again.

Goldndoodle · 02/16/2015, 08:07 AM

Thanks!

I kind of figured it wasn't dead because I would think the hermit and emerald crabs would be performing their "autopsy" by now.

I'll see if I can catch the eyes, or snout, moving around on mine.

SaltyDoug · 02/16/2015, 08:18 AM

I didn't see mine for a solid 2 months and presumed it had passed on somewhere under the sand bed. Sure enough he popped up one day just going about its business. It's cool watching them submerge and just stick there little trunk out like a submarin.

Goldndoodle · 02/16/2015, 08:24 AM

So they'll go complete underground too? Like a nassarius?

whosurcaddie · 02/16/2015, 08:27 AM

Yeah they bury themselves like nassarius but mine comes out every night. I see him roaming the sand bed at night. Those suckers are fast too. Tonight use a flashlight and see if you can spot him I bet he will be cruising around in the safety of darkness.

KSU_WILDCAT · 02/16/2015, 09:05 AM

I haven't seen mine in 2 months, although I haven't looked at the tank in the dark recently. So I guess there may be some hope.

Goldndoodle · 02/17/2015, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devastator007

... Then when cleaning the class I saw something shoot into the snadbed. I looked, and slowly poking back out was Crazy eye's eye (his name is crazy eyes). Turns out he pokes his eye out of the sand bed, and when the coast is clear he sticks that long mouth ofhis out and eats what's in reach without ever leaving the sand. ...

Just caught the 1st one that went underground on Saturday doing this exact thing. I was working, got up to answer the door (UPS man with the new GFO Reactor) and noticed something go shooting into the sand. When I looked again, I could see that snout coming back out picking at the sand around him.

The 2nd conch went underground yesterday now. He is completely submerged. The 1st one is only 3/4 of the way submerged.

Now I've got to come up with names for this guys ... I was thinking the first one that went undercover is going to be "Snuffaluf***us" and the other one is going to be "Ramius" - the character Sean Connery played in The Hunt for Red October.

ReefsandGeeks · 02/17/2015, 11:07 AM

I like the names. Only snail I have with a name. Crazy eyes seemed pretty fitting to me. Anyone who's seen the fighting conches would see why. I don't know what causes them to suddenly go under the sand or emerge, but it seems like mine is either one or the other for weeks on end.

JamesHolt · 02/17/2015, 07:32 PM

Mine is called "BullDozer",, Nothing in the tank is safe... Made a small frag rack to sit in the sand up front, he makes a beeline to it, gets under it and starts that kicking that they do.. Rack and frags went flying. Mine makes about 2-3 laps around the tank and then shuts down for a day or two....

Goldndoodle · 02/18/2015, 10:22 AM

Ramius surfaced over night.

Snuffaluf***us started cruising around this morning too.

Trails all over the sand, obviously from these guys out foraging.

They are moving fast! There was so much GHA on the sand bed when I put them in, they were probably just sitting there grazing. Now that the GHA is on the decline, they've got to move around more.

02/16/2015, 07:46 AM	#1
Goldndoodle Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Monroe MI Posts: 576	Fighting conch ... regular behavior? So Thursday I added the last of my CUC to the new tank to get them working on a GHA outbreak. As part of the CUC, I purchased 2 Fighting Conch - I've never owned any of these CUC members before, so I'm not personally familiar with their personalities. Thursday night and all day Friday - both of them cruised around the tank eating GHA off of the sand bed. Saturday morning, I noticed one of the two had half buried itself in the sand, and wasn't moving around. It has been in the same spot - apparently without moving - for at least 48 hours right now. Is this normal behavior? __________________ I don't want an "instant reef" ... I want a successful reef! 120G DT: dual Jebao WP25s, (3) 48" BML LED fixtures, APEX controller 50G sump: Jebao DC9000, Finnex 300 heaters, SCA Skimmer, fuge

02/16/2015, 08:07 AM	#3
Goldndoodle Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Monroe MI Posts: 576	Thanks! I kind of figured it wasn't dead because I would think the hermit and emerald crabs would be performing their "autopsy" by now. I'll see if I can catch the eyes, or snout, moving around on mine. __________________ I don't want an "instant reef" ... I want a successful reef! 120G DT: dual Jebao WP25s, (3) 48" BML LED fixtures, APEX controller 50G sump: Jebao DC9000, Finnex 300 heaters, SCA Skimmer, fuge

02/16/2015, 08:24 AM	#5
Goldndoodle Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Monroe MI Posts: 576	So they'll go complete underground too? Like a nassarius? __________________ I don't want an "instant reef" ... I want a successful reef! 120G DT: dual Jebao WP25s, (3) 48" BML LED fixtures, APEX controller 50G sump: Jebao DC9000, Finnex 300 heaters, SCA Skimmer, fuge

02/16/2015, 09:05 AM	#7
KSU_WILDCAT Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 89	I haven't seen mine in 2 months, although I haven't looked at the tank in the dark recently. So I guess there may be some hope. __________________ Justin 220 DSA, Reef Octopus Skimmer, 3 Radion Gen 2, RW-15, APEX Current Tank Info: 220 DSA, Reef Octopus Skimmer, Radion Gen 2, APEX, and all the other bells and Whistles

02/17/2015, 07:32 PM	#10
JamesHolt Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Milton,NC Posts: 1,104 Blog Entries: 3	Mine is called "BullDozer",, Nothing in the tank is safe... Made a small frag rack to sit in the sand up front, he makes a beeline to it, gets under it and starts that kicking that they do.. Rack and frags went flying. Mine makes about 2-3 laps around the tank and then shuts down for a day or two.... __________________ John Adams: "In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." Current Tank Info: 29g with 2 Engineer gobies

02/16/2015, 08:03 AM	#2
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	yes, this is normal. Mine used to cruise around all day and night for a month, then one day decided it was time to bury itself in the sand. I hear they come out at night, but I adn't seen mine in weeks, so I figured it was a gonner. Then when cleaning the class I saw something shoot into the snadbed. I looked, and slowly poking back out was Crazy eye's eye (his name is crazy eyes). Turns out he pokes his eye out of the sand bed, and when the coast is clear he sticks that long mouth ofhis out and eats what's in reach without ever leaving the sand. He did this for a couple sees after i noticed and just this weekend decided it was time to reamerge, and has been cruising around for a few days again.

02/16/2015, 08:18 AM	#4
SaltyDoug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 140	I didn't see mine for a solid 2 months and presumed it had passed on somewhere under the sand bed. Sure enough he popped up one day just going about its business. It's cool watching them submerge and just stick there little trunk out like a submarin.

02/16/2015, 08:27 AM	#6
whosurcaddie Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,354	Yeah they bury themselves like nassarius but mine comes out every night. I see him roaming the sand bed at night. Those suckers are fast too. Tonight use a flashlight and see if you can spot him I bet he will be cruising around in the safety of darkness.

02/17/2015, 11:07 AM	#9
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	I like the names. Only snail I have with a name. Crazy eyes seemed pretty fitting to me. Anyone who's seen the fighting conches would see why. I don't know what causes them to suddenly go under the sand or emerge, but it seems like mine is either one or the other for weeks on end.

02/18/2015, 10:22 AM	#11
Goldndoodle Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Monroe MI Posts: 576	Ramius surfaced over night. Snuffaluf***us started cruising around this morning too. Trails all over the sand, obviously from these guys out foraging. They are moving fast! There was so much GHA on the sand bed when I put them in, they were probably just sitting there grazing. Now that the GHA is on the decline, they've got to move around more. __________________ I don't want an "instant reef" ... I want a successful reef! 120G DT: dual Jebao WP25s, (3) 48" BML LED fixtures, APEX controller 50G sump: Jebao DC9000, Finnex 300 heaters, SCA Skimmer, fuge