Advice About Gold Ring Cowrie or Money Cowrie?

[Luce.and.Fur]

Hello all,
I recently picked up a (I believe) Gold Ring Cowrie (Monetaria annulus) in my LFS; they simply had them labelled as small cowrie snail. I had done some research on these before buying, as I love the look of them, and found they appeared to be considered reef safe, not grow very large, and graze on algae. Since getting my new purchase home and acclimated (seems to be doing well, active with mantle out much of the time), I have done some more reading and found conflicting information on their diet, eventual size and ideal temperatures. Anyone have any long-term experience with these, or the similar looking Money Cowrie?

 

[gentlefish]

I have had mine for 9 month. As I that behalf, I am unable to comment on maximum size. Wikipedia lists them to up to 4 cm, but I have yet to see a shell this size. Out of 10, 1 passed away. The rest is reef save, grazing, no additional feeding. Laying eggs, but I have seen no report of successful hatching. Though my other tank is currently without sock/skimmer....so we will see. 25 degrees Celsius. No buyers remorse here.

 

[Tired]

I had one for a couple years in my prior tank. It got about an inch long, ate algae, and didn't really do much. ReefCleaners sells them, so I would assume they're fine in the same temps as other Floridian natives.

 

[carbasaurus]

I have about 10 of them. They are long lived and great algae grazers. I have never seen them bother coral and hermit crabs seem to leave them alone. In my opinion they are much better than the typical algae grazers often offered for sale, just seem hard to find them for sale.

 

[Tired]

I've got one again. It's a neat-looking algae eater, leaves corals alone, everything you could ask of a snail-esque creature. About the only improvement would be if it was colorful.

 

[blaxsun]

“They mostly come out at night. Mostly.”

 

[SauceyReef]

I have about 10 of them. They are long lived and great algae grazers. I have never seen them bother coral and hermit crabs seem to leave them alone. In my opinion they are much better than the typical algae grazers often offered for sale, just seem hard to find them for sale.

How long did yours live for?

I've had one for 2+ years in my 10 gallon. Seriously underrated CUC, incredibly cool looking with mantle out or closed, totally reef safe, and not to expensive. I just recently setup two 5.5 gallons, and am going to get one in each tank. Honestly I don't think I would ever have a tank without at least one.

 

[afrokobe]

I love my money cowrie. I rarely see him unless I am specifically looking for him, but he always looks like he's hard at work on the algae. I've had it for almost a year now. I love looking at their shells

 

[SauceyReef]

Really curious how long these can live in captivity.

 

[ReeferHD]

i'd assume they can live 5+ years like other cowries, mine are a big part of my CUC and they are hard workers!

 

[Tired]

I've had one for a couple years now. They should do pretty well, I'd think.

 

[carbasaurus]

I can’t say how long they live as most are still chugging along. I have had them at least 3 years. Only a few empties found over the past few years. Hermits don’t seem to bother them at all due to shell shape