Does a conch shell grow or do I need more shells for it to grow into ?

[christwendt]

I bought a conch and it is smaller. I was wondering when the snail grows does the shell also grow ? Sorry if that’s a silly question. I’m just wondering if I need to add extra shells for it.

 

[Shufflepig]

I bought a conch and it is smaller. I was wondering when the snail grows does the shell also grow ? Sorry if that’s a silly question. I’m just wondering if I need to add extra shells for it.

A conch shell will grow with the animal. The conch does not change shells like a hermit crab does.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Their shell grows with them but if you have a hermits it might not be a a bad idea to through some conch shells in there so they are less tempted to take that one :)

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I bought a conch and it is smaller. I was wondering when the snail grows does the shell also grow ? Sorry if that’s a silly question. I’m just wondering if I need to add extra shells for it.

The conch has a layer inside, I think called nacre, the pulls calcium out of the water to deposit on the existing shell , it it grows out in a spiral ... so it renovates it’s home on the fly!
Jay

 

[ReefBeta]

Snails grow their own shell. Hermits rob shells from snails.

 

[christwendt]

Thanks fellas I knew hermits needed new ones. I’m glad I went for a smaller conch however now I’m realizing a bigger conch would help prevent my hermits from trying to take it. Do a lot of conchs become victims to hermits ? I’ve never had a hermit kill anything yet.

 

[ReefBeta]

Thanks fellas I knew hermits needed new ones. I’m glad I went for a smaller conch however now I’m realizing a bigger conch would help prevent my hermits from trying to take it. Do a lot of conchs become victims to hermits ? I’ve never had a hermit kill anything yet.

I don't know how often that happens. But I think most common hermits like shells from turbo and trochus over conchs. Conchs' shell has thin gap opening instead of round hole. On the other hand, hawaiian halloween hermits usually comes with conchs shell, so I would assume they prefer that type.

You can add some empty shells for the snails too.