Vermetid Snails

[jduong916]

I have a bunch of small vermetid snails. They are not the big ones, just millions of little ones. You can't see the webs, but I know they are there. My sps grow very fast when I first put them in, but slow down after they get bigger. Almost all of my sps have vermetids in their skeleton and I'm wondering if this is stopping the coral from growing? I hate the snails, but nothing is dying and all of my SPS have pretty good colors. I'm just not sure if this is normal for sps to slow down in growth after a while or if the vermetid situation is really hurting the growth.

 

[jda]

That is probably not an issue with the Verms. I always have some... sometimes, there are none that I can see and sometimes they have a few hundred that end up going away after a while... I usually have a few that I can see.

What kind of lights do you have? LEDs can have this issue with the directional light... they need more light as they grow and they don't get as much as they used to when they were smaller (proportionally) since the spotlight of the panels does not bounce around and hit them from all angles.

 

[jduong916]

mtiras lx7 and 4 t5s

 

[jduong916]

That is probably not an issue with the Verms. I always have some... sometimes, there are none that I can see and sometimes they have a few hundred that end up going away after a while... I usually have a few that I can see.

What kind of lights do you have? LEDs can have this issue with the directional light... they need more light as they grow and they don't get as much as they used to when they were smaller (proportionally) since the spotlight of the panels does not bounce around and hit them from all angles.

Do your verms grow into your sps though? I have 1000s all over the place.

 

[jda]

Sometimes, but I cut them out. This is not very common for me.

 

[MiguelCS71]

So sorry @jduong916 I feel your pain bro! My tank rocks are covered by them. I hate it. I also have sps' s that have them growing thru them! When my GSP go to sleep at night I see them everywhere. I'm (thinking) about removing a ton of rockwork to clean off and let dry out for a month or more, but I dont wanna cycle my tank. It's extremely frustrating....I wish there was a vermitid predator!

 

[reefndude]

My sps always seemed to go through growth spurts. As far as the snails I don't think it has anything to do with it

 

[jduong916]

My sps always seemed to go through growth spurts. As far as the snails I don't think it has anything to do with it

thats good to hear

 

[MiguelCS71]

Crap....I'm worried I've leaped without looking. Got so ticked off yesterday after my Coral Beauty devoured my Magicians. Had to remove almost all my liverock to get it.....but since it was out of the tank, I decided something crazy....which was to remove all the vermitid snails on all the rock. It's like 80% of my rock! Crap!....death is looming over my tank isn't it????

 

[Jose Mayo]

There is a product, used in organic agriculture to control slugs and snails, that could be efficient to control vermetid: Ferric phosphate.

The trademark of the product is Ferramol® Organic, but for the purpose of experimentation I believe that the use of saturated GFO may be attempted by the aquarist. Ideally, the saturated GFO should be dry and ground by dosing the product on the display when the vermetid are with their nets extended to ensure they can ingest it, and then wait for the results.

There is no defined dose to use for this purpose. Caution is required.

The mechanism of action is explained here: The potential for slug control with ferric phosphate

It seems to be safe for animals except slugs and snails.

Best regards

 

[jduong916]

Fixed the problem. 50% acid wash solution.

 

[Daltrey]

What product did you use? Is it something you can pick up at lowes? I'm in between tank moves now and have all my rockwork out. Thanks

 

[jduong916]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gal-Muriatic-Acid-2-Pack-10031HDX/206809317

Make sure its the 30% stuff, not the 16% for pools. I used 4 gallons in a 27 gallon tote of rocks and water.

Lowe's only has 16%

 

[Daltrey]

Awesome, how long did you let it sit in the acid and did you rinse it afterwards? I have mine sitting in a tote now.

 

[jduong916]

I let it sit in the bath for about an hour after the bubbles stopped (2 hours total). Dumped the the water out, refilled the tote with fresh water and added a few small boxes of baking soda. Let it sit overnight then just rinsed them off let them dry and threw them back in my tank.

 

[Chac317]

Fixed the problem. 50% acid wash solution.

Is there water in this tank?

 

[jduong916]

Is there water in this tank?

i like my fish flying

 

[vetteguy53081]

To those reading this article and unsure what vermetids are/look like:

 

[Giddyup]

Is there water in tank? My mind is blown .... awesome pic!

 

[foshizzle]

There is a product, used in organic agriculture to control slugs and snails, that could be efficient to control vermetid: Ferric phosphate.

The trademark of the product is Ferramol® Organic, but for the purpose of experimentation I believe that the use of saturated GFO may be attempted by the aquarist. Ideally, the saturated GFO should be dry and ground by dosing the product on the display when the vermetid are with their nets extended to ensure they can ingest it, and then wait for the results.

There is no defined dose to use for this purpose. Caution is required.

The mechanism of action is explained here: The potential for slug control with ferric phosphate

It seems to be safe for animals except slugs and snails.

Best regards

This is interesting. Have you tried it in an aquarium?