Live Florida Fighting Conch

These florida fighting conchs are adults and are usually shipped around 3 inches or so.

Live florida fighting conch. Since it is a burrowing animal it should be provided with a deep sand bed preferably live sand. Fighting conch snails can reach 7 10 cm 3 to 4 inches in length. The fighting conch is a very hardy member of the strombidae family. The spire at the top of the florida fighting conch tends to be lighter colored with knobs along the ridges.

Their shell has a dark reddish brown often mottled with orange brown or having zigzag bars of color on the shiny parietal wall. Before i came across this living mollusk i had collected an empty fighting conch shell while visiting sanibel island. This species requires express mail and does not qualify for free shipping. The fighting conch can be found on all florida shorelines but they prefer sandy shallow water where wave action is minimal.

Strombus pugilis common names the fighting conch and the west indian fighting conch is a species of medium to large sea snail a marine gastropod mollusk in the family strombidae the true conchs. The fighting conch is a suitable addition to any home reef aquarium where it will use its excellent sand sifting abilities to clean and aerate the substrate. Praised for their hardiness the fighting conch requires open deep sand beds in which it can forage for food. The florida fighting conch feeds through a trunk like mouth and eyes that are on long stalks and are individually movable making them an interesting creature to watch.

Strombus alatus commonly known as the florida fighting conch contains a small jagged spire at the top of the shell and about seven whorls. The front of the shell is designed with two curved edges. That s exactly the type of place i discovered this one. These edges allow the eyestalks to look out from under the shell and become aware of its surroundings keeping the rest of its body safe.

Pugilis is similar in appearance to strombus alatus the florida fighting conch. Live florida fighting conch. The fighting conch is considered an easy species to care for in aquariums. In addition the key characters of florida fighting conch snails are relatively thin and pointed spinners compared to other strombus species.

They are excellent sand sifters and very beneficial in the reef aquarium. This conch occurs in the western atlantic ocean from north carolina to florida and the gulf of mexico louisiana texas and the east coast of mexico. Florida fighting conch spire up siphon down. Alatus shells have less prominent subsutural.

Backside of florida fighting conch. This species is closely similar to strombus pugilis the west indian fighting conch which has a more southerly range. The shell can be as large as 112 mm 4 4 in.