Patty and conchlers-
Keeping any gastropod from a tropical climate in an aquarium involves the
same requirements as keeping a reef aquarium. But the Cypraea are often
ignored by aquarists (except for a few herbivorous species such as the
tigris and moneta) because many sustain themselves on coral polyps and other
desirable organisms for reef tanks. If I were you I would look into setting
up a reef aquarium first, and then introducing your desired organisms.
Regardless of what you want to keep, the requirements for keeping any marine
aquaria are best established for reef set-ups (protein skimmers, metal
halide-VHO-power compact lighting, jauvert denitrification plenums...).
There are many excellent books out there that can help you. I suggest
starting with Julian Sprung and Charles Delbeek's "The Reef Aquarium". The
two volumes are very informative and up to date, and by the one page on
cypraea it's evident that there's not much done with them in captivity, but
from personal experience I can tell you it's really quite easy (within a
reef aquarium setup). I personally would like to try getting into captive
cultivation of them, but my resources for doing so are currently limited
unless I can come up with some sort of an independent study project for
school on the subject.... anyway, Sprung and Delbeek's books could very
well be the only books on reef aquaria you'll ever have to buy. The online
bookstores can have them to you in two days. Another good suppliment is
Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine (known to us aquarium fanatics as
FAMA). The local pet shop most likely will not carry this though, as it is
full of ads for very competitively priced mail-order companies. Look for it
at a Barnes & Noble, otherwise I'm sure it's available somewhere else. It's
a great resource for finding the things you need to start up a reef
aquarium, or any other aquarium for that matter. If you're serious about
setting up an aquarium, and cost is a major issue (it always is for me)....
check out www.thatpetplace.com for some really great prices on dry goods.
Lastly, online forums such as this one exist for reef hobbiests. The most
useful and informative that I've found is Reef-l. Everyone from the
beginner to the advanced/professional aquarist is welcomed, and we are all
always willing to help and share our knowledge and experience in every
aspect of the hobby and professional levels.
I think that combining the efforts of conchology and aquarium keeping is a
great way to expand the knowledge of both groups. Anyone interested in this
stuff is more than welcome to email me personally for help or advice...
hope to hear from you soon, and I hope our fields can begin to work together
positively and productively for eachother....
-James C. Frank
PS- a big thank you to all those who took part in the discussion topics in
regard to my research topic over the last few weeks. All of your comments
and insights were rather useful in evaluating the shell trade and the
corresponding need for assessment. I will make a copy of the final paper
available to you all as soon as I have gotten it back from my instructor and
revised it. As it turns out, the project will be continued through the
summer and into next semester, so, perhaps it will come up again in
discussion. :)
><)));> ><)));> ><)));> ><)));> ><)));> ><)));> ><)));>
><)));> ><)));>
James C. Frank
Marine Science Major - The University of South Carolina
Aquarist - Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
http://mudflat.geol.sc.edu/~jcfrank
[log in to unmask]
(803)544-2683
----- Original Message -----
From: Patty Jansen <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 12:48 AM
Subject: no please (Cypraea in tank)
> Dear all,
>
> Please don't discuss requirements for keeping cowries off-list! I want to
> set up an aquarium with live C. caputserpentis and C. annulus (and
whatever
> else I can find locally) soon. I was quite intrigued by your mentioning
the
> requirement of shell-building materials. Is there another substitute? The
> pet stores around here don't even sell decent freswater plants, let alone
> specialised minerals! Where do the cowries get the stuff in the wild?
Could
> I use coral sand (I've seen that for sale in the shops) instead?
>
> Patty
>
> P.S. Thanks for replies on Marginellas - more to come
> WWW: http://www.capricornica.com
>
> Capricornica Publications on-line natural history bookshop
> P.O. Box 345
> Lindfield NSW 2070
> Australia
>
> phone/fax: 02 9415 8098 international: +61 2 9415 8098
> mobile 0412 865030
>
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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