Will Elegance Kill My Conch Snails?

[Chipper1978]

So I’d really like to get an elegance coral to place in the sand bed of my 4 foot mixed reef tank. I understand that they can decimate a snail population. I’m fine with it taking out most of my snails if that’s what it takes for me to be able to get that coral. However, I really would not want to lose my three conch snails. Anyone out there successfully keep an elegance with conch snails?

 

[BighohoReef]

Yes it’s possible, our elegance has eaten conchs before. If it can snag any type of shelled creature... minus hermits (never ate any of ours) They could be goners.

 

[Chipper1978]

Yes it’s possible, our elegance has eaten conchs before. If it can snag any type of shelled creature... minus hermits (never ate any of ours) They could be goners.

So is the elegance worth not having any snails?

 

[BighohoReef]

So is the elegance worth not having any snails?

Trade offs, trade offs... We ended up trading away our elegance for other euphyllia. It is personal preference I will say if I found a rare elegance I might consider it or if I we ever go bare bottom. Ultimately we decided the clean up crew was more important with substrate. People do keep both though so if there is a secret to this I’d love to know as well. I think I’d just be ready to restock your CuC quarterly.

 

[scdigby]

Mine have never killed a conch, but if they ever snag one i'm sure they would kill it. They do kill the other snails i have, but they leave the conchs alone. Maybe it's more that the conchs leave the elegance alone?

 

[rhostam]

I realize this an old post, but I came here to see if anyone had posted about how often elegances eat snails as mine gobble up my snail population like pop corn. So far I’ve seen my conchs brush up against the elegances and they don’t seem to try and snarf them up.

It’s a bummer. They consume so much of my snail population that I regularly have to restock them.

My black elegance is the killer. The green Aussie not so much. I once saw my sand sifting star pass by and the black elegance clung on to it with two tentacle until I was certain the tentacles were going to snap. But they let go of the star just before that happened.

I’m going to try and feed them more directly and see if that helps. I used to feed them regularly until I had a huge sustained phosphate spike. But I’ll try some more frozen food and focus on them.

 

[Grsfish]

I have 7 conches in my tank and the elegance has never harmed any of them

 

[rhostam]

I have 7 conches in my tank and the elegance has never harmed any of them

I recently replenished some snails and included in the order a Florida fighting conch by mistake. It’s huge!

I hope they ignore him as much as they ignore the others I have. He is pretty cool, though.

 

[gbroadbridge]

So I’d really like to get an elegance coral to place in the sand bed of my 4 foot mixed reef tank. I understand that they can decimate a snail population. I’m fine with it taking out most of my snails if that’s what it takes for me to be able to get that coral. However, I really would not want to lose my three conch snails. Anyone out there successfully keep an elegance with conch snails?

My elegance hasn't touched my conches.

I think they're too smart.