I wouldn't be so quick to assume it's a fighting conch, given that there are over 90 species of conch and many thousands more species of other gastropods that could be mistaken for conchs. Strombus alatus has "spikes" on the crown of its shell. It will also have visible eye stalks and an operculum, the crab-like spade foot used to assist in movement. Without the eyes I would think it might be some type of whelk (over 75 species of these). Also note that there are at least three species of "fighting" conch, and that they all originate on the coasts of North America. Therefore unless your live rock is from Florida or the Caribbean in general, you are unlikely to be so fortunate.
I should note that most LFSs seem uninterested in properly identifying gastropods (and other livestock) prior to sale - caveat emptor.
__________________
-Quinn
Man, n. ...His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth, and Canada. - A. Bierce, Devil's Dictionary, 1906
|