Vermetid Snail Predator?

[canadianeh]

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!

It worked. I use gorilla superglue.

I also used the same method for aiptasia I found on a frag. Just drill the m******f**** out and then superglued it.

 

[ReefSarg]

Regarding the vermetid Snail, my tank has literally been taken over by them. I am absolutely convinced that by smashing them it causing them to spread more because thats how it seemed for me. I started off with a few, crushed them, and then the following week had double. I absolutely hate these guys.. They are literally growing on everything from rock, to the glass, powerheads, frag racks, on all my zoa plugs, and even my darn snail and hermit crab shells. What is the big deal with these vermetid snails anyway? Do they do any harm to anything? I have so many in my tank that when i finish my next tank build I will probably not transfer ANY coral or anything else over to that tank in fear i might introduce them.

I would suspect that there is absolutely no known natural predator for these guys because they have a crazy hard shell.

Update on this? What did you end up doing? I have same issue!

 

[Ferrell]

Update on this? What did you end up doing? I have same issue!

I use bumblebee snails and super glue to control them

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

I heard arrow crabs do too. I'm gonna try them both. And I'll come back and update.

Be careful with the arrow crab they eat alot more than just the snails

 

[vetteguy53081]

Be careful with the arrow crab they eat alot more than just the snails

Arrow crabs rarely eat snails but are big on eating bristleworms

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

Arrow crabs rarely eat snails but are big on eating bristleworms

I had one chewing on a bubble coral

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had one chewing on a bubble coral

If there were food on it, I can see why

 

[TwentyfiveCents]

If there were food on it, I can see why

no food. Look up other threads on them, all im saying is keep an eye out if you end up picking one up

 

[dhanking]

Oftentimes nassarius snails may eat them as well.

 

[saltgeek1]

Anyone know if I crack their shell open, will they survive? I broke open a couple and the fish ate a couple but I hope they don't just move if they have no shell and escape the fish. #icepickforthewin

 

[schooncw]

The Vermetid Snail Predator thread has been officially revived.....
I noticed a few but it was not an issue, until I moved a mushroom rock near some other corals and noticed the sizable nets they were casting. I added 10 to my 125 and am curious, is this enough? I put the plyers and screw driver to a few but realize that if a few are visible, there are bound to be more. I've subsequently seen reports of plagues and I do not want to get to that point. Any advice is appreciated, especially in regards to the bumble bee snail and the amount I should have in my tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You can place gel superglue over the hole or Bumble bee snails may also go after them.

 

[West1]

I have an update.

I still have my frag tank running with vermetid snails. I do have 4 active bumblebee snails and although I’ve never seen them eat one, I have seen a reduction of vermetid snails. I can’t say if the bumblebee’s play a role tho.

I feed heavy, 2 cubes of blended clams, market shrimp, scallops, tilapia and reeffrenzy in DI water and 10-15ml of phytoplankton daily. Reef roids 2-3 times per week.

I don’t see any vermetid nets during feeding, hopefully they all died for some random reason.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have an update.

I still have my frag tank running with vermetid snails. I do have 4 active bumblebee snails and although I’ve never seen them eat one, I have seen a reduction of vermetid snails. I can’t say if the bumblebee’s play a role tho.

I feed heavy, 2 cubes of blended clams, market shrimp, scallops, tilapia and reeffrenzy in DI water and 10-15ml of phytoplankton daily. Reef roids 2-3 times per week.

I don’t see any vermetid nets during feeding, hopefully they all died for some random reason.

Feeding heavy also feeds them. I would superglue the holes as assurance of starvation to them

 

[West1]

Feeding heavy also feeds them. I would superglue the holes as assurance of starvation to them

Correct. Here’s a pic, I don’t see any on plugs or the egg crate.

Here’s an example on a snail. I see the vermetid base but no stem.
I’ve done zero vermetid crushing or glue, strictly gave up and felt they would live forever in this tank. I do see the vermetid with stem in the filter, media and power supply cords.

(Updated with filter pics vs. blues)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Correct. Here’s a pic, I don’t see any on plugs or the egg crate.

Here’s an example on a snail. I see the vermetid base but no stem.
I’ve done zero vermetid crushing or glue, strictly gave up and felt they would live forever in this tank. I do see the vermetid with stem in the filter, media and power supply cords.

(Updated with filter pics vs. blues)

Scrape it off if you can

 

[CarltonCay]

I forgot.... bumble bee snails love to eat vermetids. Wondered why I bought those. Had a few in quarantine and just put them in the display. Went right for the vermetids.

That’s not always true

 

[Joe's 220 Reef]

I concur with the bumble bee snails. I have a 220 that started to get over run. I put about 40 in and initially saw nothing. A few months later the population has been significantly reduced. They seem to bulldoze the shell off the rock and eat the snail. Takes some time but they come around

 

[West1]

UPDATE!

it took a few months but the bumblebee snails put a huge dent in the vermetid snail population. I have to really go out of my way to find a vermetid snail in the tank. I do however have some in the back of the Nuvo 20 filters but I am happy with that ratio.

Im so happy to not see snot webs or mini horns all over the place!!!

I’m a believer!!

the funny thing is I also have pyramid snails in my QT tank and I removed all my Trochus snails but one and I don’t see any pyramids on the trochus, bumblebees or my clam. Knock on wood but I believe the bumblebees are getting those guys as well. I’ve been manually brushing the pyramids off my trochus from Nov-2020 to May 2021 with little success. When I got back from vacation, my trochus had about 20 pyramids each so I took all but one to the LFS. Since then, I find maybe 1 pyramid snail a week on the trochus. I do have my clam on a raised eggcrate and I check the food weekly… no pyramids or signs of stress!!

 

[Oshengems]

Got 3 bumble bee snails for my waterbox 20 hope it’s not too much, i constantly shift my sand and it’s so annoying seeing all that web all over the place also when I feed