Ring Cowrie

Care at a glance

Overview

Add one or a few to a tank of 75 litres or more at 24 to 27 C and pH 8.1 to 8.4 with mature rock to graze. It is a peaceful, reef safe grazer that eats diatoms, film algae, hair algae, and some cyanobacteria. It is harmless to corals and fish, though a busy grazer can nudge loosely placed frags as it works the rock.

In the wild

The money cowrie is a small snail with a glossy, egg-shaped shell marked by a gold or orange ring on top. In life the living animal wraps a fleshy mantle over the shell to keep it polished. It grazes algae over rock and glass, usually growing to around 2 to 3 cm.

Good to know

Now placed in the genus Monetaria, this snail was long known as Cypraea annulus. Its shells were used as shell money across parts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific for centuries, which is where the name comes from.

Did you know

The living snail keeps its shell glassy smooth by wrapping soft mantle flaps up over it whenever it is left undisturbed.

Related species

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  Trochus sp.

  1.2 in (3 cm)11 gal (40 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Astraea Turbo Snail

  Astraea tecta

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• 

  Marine Nerite Snail

  Nerita sp.

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• 

  Nassarius Snail

  Nassarius sp.

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  Cerith Snail

  Cerithium sp.

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• 

  Bumble Bee Snail

  Engina mendicaria

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