vermatid snails
- Thread starter Alberta79
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Scotty Buttons
Valuable Member
I've got a thousand in my tank and they don't bother anything. I wouldn't worry about them.
408Dartfish
Well-Known Member
I don’t worry about them myself. Strangely as my tank ages I notice them less and less.
DanConnor
Valuable Member
Maybe the small ones are no problem, but the big ones (don't know if they are a different species) will irritate and kill corals.
If you have picky fish that need a lot of feeding like I do (copperband, leopard wrasses, mandarin, potters angel) the population can really grow.
If your tank is in a fallow period, I assume you aren't feeding the tank, and can probably starve them out.
If you have picky fish that need a lot of feeding like I do (copperband, leopard wrasses, mandarin, potters angel) the population can really grow.
If your tank is in a fallow period, I assume you aren't feeding the tank, and can probably starve them out.
It's debatable. Some say they can irritate zoas and more sensitive sps - I have them in one of my tanks and about once a week I'll do my best to remove/kill any that I see. They can take over some tanks quickly (nutrient dependent) and can cause odd looking growth in stony corals - in my experience it was mostly where my acros had encrusted on the rock, you'd see little spiky growths as the coral was growing around/over the snail.
I'm usually one for letting things run their course in reef tanks, but there are a few exceptions. I let vermetid snails run their course and if I could go back I would remove that single snail before it became hundreds of snails. Here's why.
Broadcast or even spot feeding corals became impossible to do without the snails mucus nets stealing a large portion of the corals food. This causes their population to increase (or explode). Also means my corals didn't get a large portion of that food intended for them.
Seeing their tubes poking out everywhere, some all over corals, bothers me (more than it bothers the coral). Vermetid tubes sticking out everywhere doesn't exactly look nice. It takes away from the beauty of the coral.
Broadcast or even spot feeding corals became impossible to do without the snails mucus nets stealing a large portion of the corals food. This causes their population to increase (or explode). Also means my corals didn't get a large portion of that food intended for them.
Seeing their tubes poking out everywhere, some all over corals, bothers me (more than it bothers the coral). Vermetid tubes sticking out everywhere doesn't exactly look nice. It takes away from the beauty of the coral.
