These dang vermetid snails

[SallyWho]

I've got a vermetid problem. When there were just a couple, I was using heavy tweezers to snap the tube off at the base and then vigorously scrape the rock where it had attached, with the idea that I was getting at the offending snail. But, uh, was that the opposite of helpful? Did scraping the rock just free the snails to settle eslewhere? My whole tank looks like an urchin- there are hundreds. How do I get rid of these bad boys?

 

[Thales]

I crush and scrape. Try to crush. Spend some time crushing and scraping. It will suck at first, then get fun. You will get them under control faster than you think. Then, keep and eye out for them, and when you get in the tank for something else, crush and scrape. It becomes a small regular thing to do. No biggie IMO.

 

[SallyWho]

I crush and scrape. Try to crush. Spend some time crushing and scraping. It will suck at first, then get fun. You will get them under control faster than you think. Then, keep and eye out for them, and when you get in the tank for something else, crush and scrape. It becomes a small regular thing to do. No biggie IMO.

That's kind of what I was doing, though. Tweezing the tubes (they crush in the process) and scraping the rock. Do I need to be siphoning out the contents too?

 

[mta_morrow]

needle nose pliers to crush and remove!

 

[eschaton]

I'd personally just concentrate on controlling them close to your corals. The mucus can irritate coral, but they're probably beneficial to reef tanks overall insofar as they help to filter dissolved organics out of the water column before they even hit your skimmer. I think they're actually helpful in the cryptic areas of the tank like the sump.

Basically you're never, ever going to totally eliminate them, so just live with them where they don't harm your display fauna.

 

[kichimark]

Sometimes crushing the tubes will not always work since they will retreat father back into the calcified bottom that is attached to a rock. Sometimes this part can be very hard to crush and when I just had a couple I would superglue the entrance. My tank is 100% free of this pest.

 

[DSC reef]

Are you sure they are vermetid snails? If they are not sending out mucus webbing then I wouldn't worry as they can be mistaken for calcerous polychaete. If they are sending out mucus webbing then I agree with others posts on removal.

 

[Unholy_Rigatoni]

I had the same problem in my old nano tank, rocks like porcupines, even embedded in the tank walls' coralline algae. Get stabbed every time you do any maintenance, bane of my existence!

Some suggestions you'll find on r2r or other forums include 1. Wrasses 2. Bumblebee snails. 2. Calcium oxide

I've tried all of them and they don't seem to work, or at least not to a level where an infestation can be quelled. Manual removal is still the best way, try a pair of long-nose hemostats.

 

[eschaton]

I've tried all of them and they don't seem to work, or at least not to a level where an infestation can be quelled. Manual removal is still the best way, try a pair of long-nose hemostats.

I wonder if introduction of more sponges and tunicates into the aquarium would help?

I mean, basically vermetid snails proliferate because there's a niche in our tank which they don't have any competition for. That niche is filter feeding. So introduce other filter feeders into the tank and maybe they are out-competed, and the water is too "polished" for them to deal with.

 

[w2inc]

I wonder if introduction of more sponges and tunicates into the aquarium would help?

I mean, basically vermetid snails proliferate because there's a niche in our tank which they don't have any competition for. That niche is filter feeding. So introduce other filter feeders into the tank and maybe they are out-competed, and the water is too "polished" for them to deal with.

I like this idea. Make sure your skimmer is running at its best. I dont know if snails can absorb organics or if they only feed on particles but fresh carbon might help and won't hurt your tank. You can starve them out if you keep your tank low nutrient enough but you may see other livestock suffer during that time.

I feel like I have had luck with a green wrasse but it could have been other things. Since I got rid of the wrasse, a couple tangs, some emerald crabs and an urchin I have seen exponential growth of them in my system. 5 months ago I didn't think I had any in there. Has anyone tried brackish water puffers?

I would focus on scraping them or glueing them. I am not sure that crushing them is a good idea. There is a good chance that gametes are being released in the water and you are unintentionally breeding them. If there is no coral on the rock I would pull it and kill it. Dry it, bake it, or bleach it or something.

I have seen nice and functional systems with them in it but I feel like they do more harm than good. I personally am making an effort to eradicate them and if I were setting up a new system I would make large efforts to keep them out. They don't bother all of my corals but the definitely do bother my Montipora. They will also settle in your plumbing, strainers, intakes and other hard to reach places and cause problems over the long term.