Kay Peterson wrote:
> Is it possible that living in a small space, i.e. an aquarium, might affect
> the growth rate of a mollusk?  I have heard that goldfish don't "outgrow" their
> tanks.
>
> "Tanks."
>
> Kay Peterson
>
>
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Horse conchs are plentiful here in SE Fla, though I know of no
growth rate data or observations.

I do know that anything smaller that about 4" is quite rare,
however.

Whether this is because they grow from babies to 4" very
quickly, or because the small ones stay out of sight (I believe
they are cannibalistic?) is a good question.

Locally, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year
moving millions of cubic feet of silt from the old lagoon
(between the barrier islands and the reef system) to cover the
more stable beach sand to give the rich and the tourists a nice
concrete-like grey beach and keep those pesky turtles from
digging holes. We call it "beach renourishment".

The plume of sediment from the dredging operations is, I
believe, responsible for a sharp decline in gastropods and
cephalopods over the past few years, including horse conchs.

The ACE, which supervises these projects, publishes an
environmental impact statement for each project, each identical
to the last. There is no mention in this statement of mollusks.

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