Dear Conch-L members,

Hello, my name is Bob Abela. Having recently relocated from Sonoma,
California to Guam, I'm enjoying the transition from infrequent
cold-water diving to frequent tropical diving. I've recently set up a
few small aquariums for mollusks. In one, I have a "pet" Conus aureus
that I'm interested in photographing, particularly to record its
predation habits. The main problem has been that its nocturnal. I've
offered a few small "feeder" mollusks and they are often consumed before
I have a chance to get it on film.

Recently, I placed a Murex laciniatus in the tank, which the C. aureus
showed interest in. On one occasion, I watched the cone try to dislodge
the murex by attempting to wedge itself between the Murex's aperture and
the rock it was resting upon. The murex clamped down hard and, in this
instance, the tactic failed.

On a seperate occasion, I observed the cone would intake a large volume
of water through its extended siphon, slowly raising its body as it did
so. Then expel it, presumeably through its rostrum (difficult to tell).
This was forceful and quick, pulling its shell back down as it did so.
It resulted in stirring sand in the immediate vicinity of the murex
which was resting at the edge of the sand and the base of a rock. This
continued for perhaps one-half hour and then the cone resumed roving
about. I assume this was intended to irritate and perhaps dislodge the
murex. The murex clamped down the entire time.

If anyone else has observed similar behaviors, I'd sure like to know
about it.

A day later, I did find a nice clean murex resting bottoms up on the
sand, the operculum resting by its side. The animal was completely
consumed. The aureus rested for quite a while, exposed on the surface of
the sand, not even bothering to bury itself during daylight hours, as is
typical.

By the way, the Murex laciniatus is now a well-preserved specimen for my
collection. As for my pet Conus, it's doing just fine, had 'him' for
about three months now. Not a gem, a couple of large breaks on the body
whorl. Large though, ~57mm. Maybe it's time for a pet
name...suggestions?

You can view an okay close-up of the cone at:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/bobsonguam/vwp?.dir=/Public&.dnm=close-up+
of+Conus+aureus.jpg&.view=t
Hope the link works! I intend to get some better shots in the very near
future.

Bob Abela
Tamuning, Guam
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