Fan worm taking up residence on a trochus snail

[Blenndiagram]

Hi everyone!

I recently noticed a fan worm hitchhiker attached to the back of my trochus snail. It’s built a little sand tube, and while I’m happy to have a free fan worm, I’m concerned that if it keeps growing, it might start affecting the snail’s ability to move around and eat.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Can I safely remove the worm by gently pulling off the sand tube, or is there a better way to handle this without hurting either the snail or the worm?

Any insight or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Formulator]

That’s kind of cool Honestly both snails and fans/tube worms are a dime a dozen in my tank so I would probably just leave it alone and see what happens. If you see the snail in distress, you can always remove the fan. The fan will probably not live if you remove it. Those shells just crumble. It will not come off in one piece.

 

[NonstopSoda]

That’s kind of cool Honestly both snails and fans/tube worms are a dime a dozen in my tank so I would probably just leave it alone and see what happens. If you see the snail in distress, you can always remove the fan. The fan will probably not live if you remove it. Those shells just crumble. It will not come off in one piece.

I agree, the smaller the fanworm the more brittle their shells are, I would just leave it! The hitch hiker fanworms usually stay small for quite a while and if anything the snail might squish it on accident.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Don't remove it, it won't effect the snail. Fan worms don't bore into the shell like spoiribid worms do. They just build a tube around the outside and it won't harm the snail.