Pink, spiral shaped growths?
- Thread starter Dlaw
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LiveFreeAndReef
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they look like vermetid snails, not the best critters to have around
\m/reefsnmetal\m/
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Vermatids. Mostly harmless unless they are growing on the coral like in your picture. The mucous web they secrete to catch food can irritate the corals and kill them if given enough time.
jeffchapok
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Yep, vermetid for sure. They can really spread, but mine eventually reached an equilibrium and I don't have too many of them anymore, so I just leave them.
If you just break off the tube, it'll just grow back. You have to crush the shell to get rid of them.
If you just break off the tube, it'll just grow back. You have to crush the shell to get rid of them.
muzikalmatt
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Those are definitely vermetid snails. As others have indicated, they can spread like wildfire if the conditions are right in the tank. They are filter feeders so broadcast feeding particulate foods will exacerbate their spread.
Once they're in the tank, they're very difficult if not impossible to fully eradicate. Typically you have to manually remove them, making sure you get the base crushed or completely removed. However, they can grow deep in the rockwork where you can't get to them and can also grow inside your plumbing despite the absence of light.
Some people have success using bumblebee snails which supposedly eat them, but your mileage may vary and typically you need a lot of them for it to work. It's certainly worth a try. I have several bumblebees in my tank but they really don't make a dent in the overall vermetid population.
I eventually gave up on trying to remove them as they spread too quickly. To be honest though, they don't really bother my corals. They're just an eyesore as they cover the rockwork and make it look like a pincushion. Occasionally, if I see one nestled in between some zoanthid polyps or on LPS skeletons like your picture I will remove those, but I don't really worry about them otherwise.
Once they're in the tank, they're very difficult if not impossible to fully eradicate. Typically you have to manually remove them, making sure you get the base crushed or completely removed. However, they can grow deep in the rockwork where you can't get to them and can also grow inside your plumbing despite the absence of light.
Some people have success using bumblebee snails which supposedly eat them, but your mileage may vary and typically you need a lot of them for it to work. It's certainly worth a try. I have several bumblebees in my tank but they really don't make a dent in the overall vermetid population.
I eventually gave up on trying to remove them as they spread too quickly. To be honest though, they don't really bother my corals. They're just an eyesore as they cover the rockwork and make it look like a pincushion. Occasionally, if I see one nestled in between some zoanthid polyps or on LPS skeletons like your picture I will remove those, but I don't really worry about them otherwise.
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I tried and it did not work in my case. I pulled the rock and put it in a container with salt water and used a dental pick to stab/scrape them off.
