Vermetid snails: Are they really a big deal

Jcon82 · Apr 12, 2023

Hey All,

My 40 breeder reef is about a year old and everything is settling down. Also in past two months I've seen an uptick in vermetid snails. I've picked a few off my SPS but for the most part I leave them. Are they really a problem I should tackle? I've encountered and beat most new tank issues and just don't want to disturb the tank anymore.

KING KONG · Apr 12, 2023

Jcon82 said:
Hey All,

My 40 breeder reef is about a year old and everything is settling down. Also in past two months I've seen an uptick in vermetid snails. I've picked a few off my SPS but for the most part I leave them. Are they really a problem I should tackle? I've encountered and beat most new tank issues and just don't want to disturb the tank anymore.

Actually vermatid snails r pretty innocent but there way of feeding is a big problem for corals. Their web can irritate your corals. Bumblebee Snails do work on them but still every individual is different. I too have them in my tank but I don't hv corals so I let them be there. Though,Best option is manual removal but it is very tough to remove all of them from your tank

o2manyfish · Apr 12, 2023

What I call the snot tentacles from when they feed annoy and possibly sting other corals. These sting spots are an opportunity for infection.

They really tick off most things that they touch.

Dave B

Budman93 · Apr 12, 2023

I dont think so unless it gets to ridiculous proportions. That said I hate them very very much. Would always have to be careful crabbing live rock so i didnt cut myself on the little S***ts.

exnisstech · Apr 12, 2023

They are a problem for me but I have an infestation. They really screw up the growth pattern on plating corals

Bucs20fan · Apr 12, 2023

They dont harm anything thats not a coral, and as stated above, the only way they do that is with their webs they spit out to catch food. I attack them with a management approach. Simply just smash em when you see em, and have a small contingent of bumblebee snails.

billyocean · Apr 12, 2023

They never really bothered anything in my tank but are annoying. I noticed after using the diy coral snow for a few months this the numbers dwindled big time. Don't know if there's a correlation but some think so.

ptrahan · Apr 12, 2023

I have the small ones. Not too bad but they are there. I am hesitant to sell or give out frags or bta because of them.
Ruler is cm, not inches.

TheBear78 · Apr 12, 2023

I had a bit of an outbreak during the first year. They were everywhere and even grew through a leather coral which was quite unsightly to say the least. They have since died back with no intervention from me and while still a bit annoying they don't appear to bother anything now.

Shaddow_wolf169 · Apr 12, 2023

Super glue the tube close

kevgib67 · Apr 12, 2023

I had a small colony of fruit loops zoas close up. I didn’t get to concerned. One day I noticed the webbing coming from the same plug and discovered the vermatid snail, camouflaged by coralline algae. I threw in bumblebee snails and haven’t seen any in 6-7 months. The zoas never opened and slowly melted.