vermetid snails battle and how I won...

[saltgeek1]

Hello All,

I would like to explain my tactic on how I have started to kill and push back my population of vermetid snails. I started to notice a few or I should say a lot of my SPS and LPS receding, with SPS it looked like RTN, and with the LPS the nasty jelly dissolve (LPS version of RTN). I started down the path that most reef keepers follow, you start to question water parameters or worse yet fish. I noticed one thing that puzzled me, the water parameters checked out and the more difficult SPS corals were completely fine.

I put it together and realized that the stony coral which required high flow and light did better than those which weren't in a similar area, that is when I noticed the web of slime. Now that I identified the guilty party the next step was to take care of this problem. I researched and researched solutions but didn't find much in regards to natural predators that wouldn't kill other things in my tank, and I was not about to remove rocks from my tank to kill them. So I decided to take matters into my own hand and I purchased an icepick to dig them out of the rockwork, this worked for the one I could see and reach but the ones which were inverted under an overhang proved difficult, so I decided to take a could days (more like weeks) to think about a solution.

Then it hit me I had some leftover aiptasia-x under the tank as that battle was done with THEM , I went forward with my thought of flooding the tube with this solution to see if it would kill the snail. Sure enough, it worked, I gave it a couple of days before I declared victory and dug one out of its encrusted rockwork, and to my delight it was dead. Now by no means am I an expert in regards or am I endorsing the RedSea product but it works.

Start by placing your pumps in feed mode or turning them off for a bit while you dose the tubes. Fill the tubes very slow till you see slight overflow, once filled move to the next, and repeat. Keep the pump down for about 15-20mins then you should fine to resume pump operations. Monitor the snails which have been dosed and you should notice during your next feeding your tank is web-free.

Happy Reef Keeping.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Interesting, I have a bottle of aiptasia x that I am thinking of throwing away (the aiptasia pop right back up within a week). Apparently it does have a use!

 

[DC Reefer]

I have used Aiptasia X on the V snails in the past with similar results.

 

[saltgeek1]

Interesting, I have a bottle of aiptasia x that I am thinking of throwing away (the aiptasia pop right back up within a week). Apparently it does have a use!

I share your pain in regards to Aiptasia-x being a temporary fix, I finally got rid of mine with a peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni), and the reason I phrased that in a singular form instead of the plural is b/c only one is still in the tank, I started with five which were the size of about half-inch, now I have a single adult about 3inches in size and he/she keeps the vermin at bay.

 

[saltgeek1]

I have used Aiptasia X on the V snails in the past with similar results.

I am glad I am not the only one, now we just need to get a poll going so folks will know what to do

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Cool idea!

 

[KRO]

Thanks for the additional idea! I ordered two dozen bumble bees snails then smashed a lot of the vermetid snails so that they got a good taste for them. Once the hard tube is crushed it seems like the bumble bees can get in and get the vermetid snail. It's a slow process but they seem to be reducing the vermetid snails for I had a couple hundred and now I'm just down to a dozen in the cracks and under rocks so I'll try some of that Aiptasia-x on them.

 

[JCTReefer]

I always wanted to try the laser idea.

Video: 5000mw laser is a success

Thanks to a thread here on Reef2Reef, I was motivated to get a new laser to replace the one I bought three years ago and did a video about. I ordered one from Ebay from China, which took about 2.5 weeks to arrive. I was pretty excited to try out the new one but told the viewers on my channel to...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Reef_Obsessed]

Well, it’s worth a shot. I have hundreds in my tank at least and similar to you, I can’t remove my rock. Thanks for the tip

 

[Spydersweb]

My unexpected treatment for vermatid snails was my Valentini puffer. I was beginning to get a mini infestation, then I get the puffer, and they’re gone as soon as they appear. Not sure if this is a common thing, but he loves to eat vermatids. Doesn’t touch my corals either

 

[stef garvie]

Hello All,

I would like to explain my tactic on how I have started to kill and push back my population of vermetid snails. I started to notice a few or I should say a lot of my SPS and LPS receding, with SPS it looked like RTN, and with the LPS the nasty jelly dissolve (LPS version of RTN). I started down the path that most reef keepers follow, you start to question water parameters or worse yet fish. I noticed one thing that puzzled me, the water parameters checked out and the more difficult SPS corals were completely fine.

I put it together and realized that the stony coral which required high flow and light did better than those which weren't in a similar area, that is when I noticed the web of slime. Now that I identified the guilty party the next step was to take care of this problem. I researched and researched solutions but didn't find much in regards to natural predators that wouldn't kill other things in my tank, and I was not about to remove rocks from my tank to kill them. So I decided to take matters into my own hand and I purchased an icepick to dig them out of the rockwork, this worked for the one I could see and reach but the ones which were inverted under an overhang proved difficult, so I decided to take a could days (more like weeks) to think about a solution.

Then it hit me I had some leftover aiptasia-x under the tank as that battle was done with THEM , I went forward with my thought of flooding the tube with this solution to see if it would kill the snail. Sure enough, it worked, I gave it a couple of days before I declared victory and dug one out of its encrusted rockwork, and to my delight it was dead. Now by no means am I an expert in regards or am I endorsing the RedSea product but it works.

Start by placing your pumps in feed mode or turning them off for a bit while you dose the tubes. Fill the tubes very slow till you see slight overflow, once filled move to the next, and repeat. Keep the pump down for about 15-20mins then you should fine to resume pump operations. Monitor the snails which have been dosed and you should notice during your next feeding your tank is web-free.

Happy Reef Keeping.

Yes it works I did it too as a experiment works a treat

 

[EvanDeVita]

Bumblebee snails have worked a charm for me

 

[Z3speed4me]

I’ve had a few big ones pop up on the back of the rocks I haven’t seen... time to give this a try!

 

[dhboiler]

My unexpected treatment for vermatid snails was my Valentini puffer. I was beginning to get a mini infestation, then I get the puffer, and they’re gone as soon as they appear. Not sure if this is a common thing, but he loves to eat vermatids. Doesn’t touch my corals either

I never had a problem with vermetids until I got rid of my spotted puffer. For the longest time I couldn't figure out where they came from because I hadn't added anything. One day it suddenly clicked it wasn't what I put in, it was what I took out. I got rid of the puffer because I suspected he had developed a taste for lps. Talk about danged if you do, danged if you don't.

 

[saltgeek1]

I always wanted to try the laser idea.

Video: 5000mw laser is a success

Thanks to a thread here on Reef2Reef, I was motivated to get a new laser to replace the one I bought three years ago and did a video about. I ordered one from Ebay from China, which took about 2.5 weeks to arrive. I was pretty excited to try out the new one but told the viewers on my channel to...

www.reef2reef.com

I have a 5watt laser (480nm) and it was great at burning the aiptasia but the snail's shell seems to provide a bit of protection from the heat, maybe my batteries are starting to fade, but this was right off of the charger.

 

[saltgeek1]

Bumblebee snails have worked a charm for me

My only worry about the bumblebee snail was them looking for other things once they got rid of the vermetid snails, like my other snails in the tank.

 

[EvanDeVita]

My only worry about the bumblebee snail was them looking for other things once they got rid of the vermetid snails, like my other snails in the tank.

What other snails are you worried about? Turbos and nassarius or some other micro snail like vermitid?

 

[LegendaryCG]

Aptasiax works on a lot of stuff. I use it to eliminate capt jerk palys from my tank.

 

[Cbones1979]

Thanks for the additional idea! I ordered two dozen bumble bees snails then smashed a lot of the vermetid snails so that they got a good taste for them. Once the hard tube is crushed it seems like the bumble bees can get in and get the vermetid snail. It's a slow process but they seem to be reducing the vermetid snails for I had a couple hundred and now I'm just down to a dozen in the cracks and under rocks so I'll try some of that Aiptasia-x on them.

What size tank for the bumblebees? I have some in my 45 gallon but don’t seem to see the snails receding only gaining.

 

[ninjamyst]

How does this work if you can't get to the snails with aiptasia x? There will always be ones under another rock or at the back of your rock work. If you have to remove your rocks to get to them, you may as well just ice pick them off like you said ...