raeh1 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Pretty cool big snails. Just if anyones interested. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Cowries? Anyone got trochus snails up there: Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Anyone got trochus snails up there: i do nd mine are breeding!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I have one lonely one. It's needs some friends, got any to spare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 sure do let me know how to send them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petplanet Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 If it's a cowrie then avoid it or buy at your peril. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 sure do let me know how to send them! snail mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Just trying to figure out what they are Raeh1, (it's a long drive to Jansens). Do they have stripes? Is the opening a long narrow slit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I think he's talking about tiger cowrie: About the only "snail" actually on the MAF permitted list (at the moment). Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I thought cowries were coral destroyers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Can't find the article but I once read they are OK when small but start eating corals as they grow. This from liveaqauria - "The Tiger Cowrie has an egg-shaped, spotted, glossy shell and is in high demand for the rock aquarium. It differs in color depending upon geographical location. While it does not have an operculum to shut when it retracts its mantle into its shell, the opening is lined with "threatening" tooth-like structures. Normally, the mantle will completely cover its shell unless it feels threatened. This helps it keep its lustrous white and brown mottled coloration, while its mantle will appear like a fingerprint of black and gray, with many short papillae over the surface. In the wild, it can be found under rocks or resting on soft corals during the day, foraging for food mostly at night. The Tiger Cowrie prefers a rock aquarium with hiding places. While small, it will eat some algae and scavenge for scraps, but as an adult, it will eat some anemones, sponges, and soft corals, and is best housed with starfish, sea urchins, and tubeworms in the reef aquarium. Do not house it with Condylactis sp. It needs low nitrate levels and will not tolerate copper-based medications. The diet of a large Tiger Cowrie should be supplemented with pieces of fish and mussel, and a product such as TetraTips." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petplanet Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yeah, they are great if you want yet another thing you won't see during the day but you can watch eating your corals in the dead of night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 If it's a cowrie then avoid it or buy at your peril. What? I have 2 Cowries in my tank, had them for about 4 years. Why avoid them? They eat algae and people always comment on how cool they are because they have seen the shells before but didn't know what the live animal looked like. Where is the peril? Its a snail, not exactly something to fear, unless you value your algae. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yeah, they are great if you want yet another thing you won't see during the day but you can watch eating your corals in the dead of night. Thats complete rubbish. They are active during the day, all day, and they don't eat corals, or at least they don't eat the corals in my tank (SPS, LPS, Softie, Mushroom and Zoo's). Have you ever actually kept a cowrie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 As per lduncan's pic. look cool and are about 7-8cms long $75 seems far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 i do nd mine are breeding!! Cookie, if your packaging some up I would be more than happy to pay for a few as well? I can't see why they wouldn't be fine posted in a little container with a splash of water. A small juice bottle with the wider openings would do the trick and be tough enough to survive our careful posties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 depends what kind of cowrie it is. egg cowrie (white shell, hence the name with black flesh) are active leather coral eaters. they live between leather corals and munch away part of the corals. i observed it many times whilst diving in tonga. can't say much about tigers as i have never observed them in the wild. but they do look cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Pies how about post a pic of yours so we know which are the "safe" ones. If the Jansens ones check out I may add a couple to the tank for a bit more interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Mine are the Tiger Cowrie as per Laytons pic. They are quite large, a bit smaller than a fist. People always commenting on them, they crawl accross the glass as part of their daily routine and zoom through the sand. The only negitive I can see is because of their size they can knock corals over, but other than that 10/10. Kids and adults that seem them in the tank are always 'wow' is that what 'they' look like. Mine are well over 3 years old too and going well. I've never seen any behavior that makes me suspect they are breeding. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Cheers thanks! Fist size must be pretty awesome! If anybody goes to Jansens & has a look at theirs please post up here to let me know if they're the same. Bit of a major for me to get there at the moment work is super busy. But I'll try to organise if I know it's the right snail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Cookie, could it be that there are several types looking very similar? Did the ones you saw eating corals look like Laytons pic? Also, perhaps corals are a "less prefered" food, when nothing else is available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 They are tiger cowrie snails. 50% chance they will eat zoos or polyps. should be ok with soft coral and sps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Oh . I like my zoos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Did the ones you saw eating corals look like Laytons pic? Also, perhaps corals are a "less prefered" food, when nothing else is available? same shape but total different in colour, like i said the ones i saw were white as an egg (and size wise too) with black mantle eating sacrophyton leathers. we only ever found them within large clusters of those leathers. perhaps they eat only a peticular kind of coral and will easily substitute with something else if the preferred food source isn't available (like algae for example) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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