TankBud

Fighting conch

Strombus alatus

Also known as Florida Fighting Conch, Sand-Sifting Conch, Sand Conch

SaltwaterSnail

Fighting conch (Strombus alatus)
Zammerman · CC BY 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Strombidae
Origin
Western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, from North Carolina to Florida and along the Gulf coast to Texas and the Yucatan

Overview

The fighting conch is a dedicated sand-bed sifter and an easy snail to keep. It leaves the sand noticeably cleaner and better aerated behind it.

Did you know

The fighting conch does not fight its tank mates. The name comes from the shoving matches males have with rivals over females at breeding time. These brief pushing contests leave nothing worse than a bruised ego.

Caring for the fighting conch

The fighting conch needs a fine sand bed several centimeters deep to plow through, in at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends nearly all of its time on or just under the sand rather than climbing rock.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It plows through the substrate all day for detritus, diatoms and film algae.

Starvation is the real risk in an older, very clean tank once the sand bed runs low on food. Watch for a conch that has stopped actively foraging, and supplement with sinking algae wafers or pellets if needed. The fighting conch is peaceful toward fish, corals and other invertebrates, and it is reef safe.

Good to know

Strombus alatus takes its name from the flared, wing-like outer lip of the adult shell, since alatus is Latin for winged. It is a true conch in the family Strombidae. Like other strombid conchs, it carries an eye on a long stalk on each side of its head. It uses a claw-shaped, sickle-like operculum to flip and pole-vault across the sand rather than gliding like a typical snail.

In the wild

The fighting conch lives on sand and rubble bottoms and in seagrass beds along the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Its range runs from North Carolina down through Florida and west along the Gulf coast to Texas and the Yucatan. Wild conchs shift with the seasons, moving into deeper water over winter and back into the shallows in summer to spawn.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The fighting conch is a peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a fighting conch need?

A fighting conch needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a fighting conch need?

A fighting conch is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a fighting conch eat?

A fighting conch plows through the sand for detritus, diatoms and film algae. In an older, very clean tank, supplement it with sinking algae wafers or pellets.

How big does a fighting conch get?

An adult fighting conch reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species