Vermetid Snail Predator?

[RichtheReefer21]

Bumblebee snails have taken care of hundreds that I once had.

 

[mcdrichj]

Bumblebee snails have taken care of hundreds that I once had.

I only have a 15 gallon nano, right after work im going to buy a bumblebee snail they have one in stock that I was at lunch!!!

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I have about 15 in a 125g 6ft... took them about 3 months to make a noticable difference.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I have about 15 in a 125g 6ft... took them about 3 months to make a noticable difference.

Same size tank here. I'm going to have to try this approach.

 

[eschaton]

IMHO introducing any sort of predator to eat a single pest lifeform is a bad idea. Either they eat that one thing, and one thing only (in which case they probably die off before getting every single thing) or they are opportunistic and will eat lots of other things on your rock/sand as well which are more beneficial.

My old tank had a fair amount of vermetids, and I just don't see why it's a big deal unless a particular one is casting a mucus net which is irritating a coral, or blocking the plumbing system/pumps. In cryptic areas of the tank (under rocks, in the sump, etc) I tend to think of them as beneficial organisms which help to polish the water, similar to sponges.

 

[malacoda]

1) Keep in mind, any snail that eats vermetids will also likely eat other snails, and possibly clams as well.

2) From what I've seen/read, there are more than one type of snail that get lumped into the general name of 'bumble bee' snails. Some are predatory ... similar to whelks (which prey on other snails and clams). And some are not ... which means they wouldn't do a thing to help rid your tank of vermetids.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Well, I literally have tens of thousands of vermetid snails in my tank. I'm willing to give a few bumblebee snails a chance at this point.

 

[Dmsick]

Probably had thousands in my 100g. I added 4 bumblebee snails and a melanarus wrasse. I've seen a definite drop-off in the vermetids. I think most of it has been the bumble bees but I've seen the wrasse picking at the rocks. I'm not sure if he's eating vermetids or algae though.

 

[4sylvester]

1) Keep in mind, any snail that eats vermetids will also likely eat other snails, and possibly clams as well.

2) From what I've seen/read, there are more than one type of snail that get lumped into the general name of 'bumble bee' snails. Some are predatory ... similar to whelks (which prey on other snails and clams). And some are not ... which means they wouldn't do a thing to help rid your tank of vermetids.

Very true. I also risked my CUC by putting in a melanurus wrasse. So far it doesn't seem he has a taste for them "yet". It's not hard to catch these bumbles. If they clear my vermetids I'll pick most of them out and donate to the LFS. I don't think i can ever get my melanurus back out but no point in housing 50+ bumbles if the vermetids are gone.

 

[bryanfuel]

I’ve never understood the hate around these guys although it sounds like my case is an outlier. I’ve had this big Vermetid snail (1cm x 2cm) for over 2 years now and never seen it spread. It’s pretty cool to watch it’s web and pull in food that it catches.

 

[mcdrichj]

They are everywhere and spread like wildfire.

 

[tastyfish]

I’m afraid bumblebee snails are more likely to predate on other snail CUC rather than vermatids.

They are a predatory whelk, specialising in other snails and molluscs.

 

[West1]

Story updates pls

My nuvo 20 is thriving, unfortunately so are the vermetid snails.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Go with coral putty. Mix it (knead) and pack over the vermetids and tell them goodbye !!

 

[Jrcjr5]

I had a pretty serious infestation of vermatids and had great success with bumble bees. I do think they went after a few of my other smaller CUC members however. I also had a melanarus, but it never developed a taste for the bumbles. Almost a year later now and still have 5-6 bumbles working the remaining vermatids.

 

[Vette67]

I also have flatworms the non harmful kind that I will be getting rid of today. You can see them on the sand bed. I went fallow for 3 months and the worms just spread like wild fire. Any suggestions?

Are you sure those aren’t hydroids? From your picture, we can’t see if there is the telltale coiled shell at the bottom. Hydroids have the same tubes and look like vermetids, but are harmless. I have hydroids on some of my rock and they look very similar to the vermetids. Hydroids look like feather duster worms, rather than slime.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Didn’t see pic. Looks like fan worms not vermetids or droids
Starve them as they feed off suspended food and they’ll be gone

 

[WallyB]

I hate Colonial Hydroids (specifically) more than Vermits. They spread worse/faster if you feed you tank corals.
They will cover every inch of your rocks. Sting all corals to retract.
Took me years to get rid of them. At laeat the infestation. I stopped feeding the corals by broadcast feeding.
If you have any get rid of them ASAP.

At least Vermitid are somewhat easy to cut out with Bone Cutters (Carve them out of the rock, or cover with Putty). If you can get to where they are. Easy to see them, if you turn off flow, right after creating a dust storm. (Puts a tracer on their web)
And if they are not where you can get to them, they are probably not an annoyance to viewing corals.

 

[canadianeh]

I am using dremmel to grind them off the surface. After that, I smear super glue on the surface for extra protection.

anyone else is doing the same?

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I am using dremmel to grind them off the surface. After that, I smear super glue on the surface for extra protection.

anyone else is doing the same?

Sounds like a great approach. Just be sure to use the reef safe version of the super glue. Acryli-something..

Green topped gorilla glue is the one i use.

Update us on the progress!